[Music]
[Laughter]
you
you
[Applause]
there is something that every person and
creature on this planet I think can
relate to something as common as
breathing and that each one of you is
doing in your seats right now so any
guesses aging i’m talking about aging so
some of you in the audience are probably
thinking why is this 20 17 year-old girl
up on stage reminding me that I’m aging
I mean shoot I’ve got wrinkles that are
gonna do that please just stop but it’s
true whether you want to admit it or not
whether it’s a baby taking their first
few breasts in the world
or a person taking the very last every
second we’re all getting just a little
bit older now granted as I mentioned I’m
in my 20s so hopefully I have a couple
more years before I start seeing some
gray hairs but considering the
experience that I just saw my
grandparents go through the nursing home
it really got me thinking what that
stage of life was going to look like for
my parents and eventually myself and
maybe some of you in the audience right
now are thinking wow I really connect
with that because I’m going through that
with my mom or my dad right now or my
grandpa and my grandma it’s just really
hard for us so what are we doing to
improve the system though when people
find out that this is where I’m
interested in going with my career I was
get a lot of funny looks like why are
you interested in this and how did you
even start thinking about this I’m
pretty sure you’re one of the few
Millennials who has this on their radar
and it’s true I do feel like that and it
doesn’t sound like a very glamorous job
but I really think it could be so if
you’re wondering where my journey
started and why I’m doing this it all
started with an idea I had this summer
that got me excited to think I could be
a part of the solution this summer I was
in Atlanta having dinner at an old Sears
warehouse that had been completely
restored good at out restored tour you
could see the original structure except
now it was this really cool trendy hip
mixed-use space that was for coffee
shops and restaurants and bars and
breweries and you know artisan
crafts and stuff like that there was
Mini Putt Putt on top four people and an
indoor outdoor spaces for families to
enjoy and so I’m as I’m taking all of
this and I’m thinking wow this is just
so cool there’s such a life and vibrancy
here and then an idea hit me what if we
took the concept of a mixed-use space
and the life and vibrancy that comes
from that and apply it to senior living
and long-term care create the idea right
so actually take the assisted living the
independent living the nursing homes and
place them above or next to all the
actions that they too can enjoy it and
we have opportunities for the whole
family to come and enjoy the Botanical
Gardens around but also there’s
opportunities for residents to volunteer
maybe there’s a coffee shop there where
students like to go and study and hang
out and it’s open to the public but now
that coffee shop becomes a big part of
an elders day who lives around the area
who gets up in the morning and has a
reason to go have coffee around other
people maybe it isn’t a mixed-use space
but just a neighborhood so just imagine
a neighborhood here you have houses here
in houses your house is here and you
have parks and places and playgrounds
for kids to play and you also have a
community for seniors in the same
neighborhood so it’s not a place for
seniors but a place that just has seen
it there we as a society are guilty of
warehousing our greatest generation that
has contributed so much to our own
upbringing country we put them in places
that literally accelerate their aging to
where they can’t see their relevance in
the world anymore they lose their sense
of purpose their day’s monotonous the
games are the same and in some cases
feel a sense of elder abuse and neglect
I know this because I saw my grandparent
go through this the last four years of
his life when he was home elder neglect
is a serious issue in our community 60%
of elders don’t in nursing homes don’t
receive visitors and those that do
receive visitors only get visited about
once a year you just imagine that
imagine getting visited once a year
to make matters worse this is only going
to get worse in our country our country
is just one of many around the world
that is going to see a brink in a huge
surge in their senior population of
people turning over the age of 65 with
the baby boomer generation in our
country turning over 65 our country’s
population and aging is going to double
so we’re gonna see it go from 43 point 1
million to an estimated eighty three
point seven million by 2050 and by 2060
this is going to be 1/4 of our
population crazy so what are we doing to
improve the system I fixated in on this
one solution and it’s intergenerational
connected a connection intergenerational
communities are defined as communities
that promote interaction and cooperation
between individuals of different ages
and that focus on the needs of all
residents so to give you an example of
this there are nursing homes that are
putting preschools in date or putting
daycares and preschools in nursing homes
now so that the residents in these
places can volunteer with the kids and
read to them and watch them play outside
in the playground and it just brings a
new cool interaction between them
likewise there are some nice assisted
living communities that have beautiful
apartments that they’re opening up to
college students for free or subsidised
rent and in exchange their volunteer
time to be a companion to an elder
neighbor and help them with some
groceries or help them maybe cook a meal
or play a game or – one of my favorites
is a university in Seattle that decided
to start eating dormitories near long
term care and then actually offer meal
plans to college students to encourage
them to eat in the same dining halls as
their elders now I think these are all
wonderful ideas but I believe we can do
more of it and I believe we can do it
better we have the opportunity to be on
the brink of changing the status quo and
how we break down age segregation now
this is really important I don’t want
you to get caught up in how we’re going
to do this but rather why we should
believe in it in the first place we
should believe in intergenerational
connection as this
because we can all be a part of it and
by doing so and by believing this we
will naturally achieve how we’ll do it
too now studies show the
intergenerational connection benefit
many groups in our communities our youth
and our older adults just to give you an
example civic engagement a sharing of
stories and culture and attitude towards
our older adults positively affects our
community in our youth there’s academic
growth
there’s empathy there’s self esteem and
better health and well-being with our
elders as well as their cognitive
functioning and improved quality of
living so what I want you to do it
there’s a lot of kids in this room who
are going to college soon and I want you
to look about this list of majors now I
just told you about a huge market
opportunity here in a group of people
we’re gonna really need your help in an
area where your skill set the talents
are going to really be needed so what
way to see those connection points then
by actually going down this list of
majors at a university and seeing where
your interests apply so medical field is
a given but what about business or legal
or social work or hospitality or tech
you want to build apps work in a cool
startup community then great do that
this is my 91 year old grandma playing
on her iPad words with friends so maybe
you’re working in the startup and you’re
doing all that cool stuff with the apps
but you’re thinking about her and how
she can connect with other elders around
the world there’s people who are
bringing virtual reality technology into
the nursing homes to where people who
haven’t been able to leave homes for a
while to now put on those glasses and
actually feel like they’re walking down
the streets of Italy pretty cool there’s
actually hearing aids now too that are
Bluetooth enabled so you can all operate
it on your phone so what I want you to
do then I want you to get caught up in
in how we’re going to do this but why
it’s going to be important then from
there your ideas will start to think we
are all relevant in this
a Shinto maybe it’s the English majors
here who can actually a class credit and
partner with the universities to where
they’re actually getting class credit to
help write memoirs with our seniors and
then also film and journalism students
can get together and leave they’re
filming these stories of our seniors and
them preserving them for families in
modern ways that they can be passed down
to other generations I just want your
mom wheels to get turning on how you are
relevant in this and how you can apply
your skillset to this group of people
who are desperately going to need our
help and how we can reintegrate this
group into our society so what I want to
cause off with is a problem an old
African proverb that a friend of mine
shared with me once it says when a man
dies an entire library burns so I wanted
to show you what this looked like to me
to do that I took my grandpa’s timeline
and put it up here he’s 91 years old
today and he is doing great loving life
living with his wife on their piece of
land five acres with their two dogs and
very happy but just to show you and get
to Indian idea of what all these
chapters in his life look like in the
importance of preserving his stories and
also interaction with our elders and
appreciating them and integrating them
back into societies that they’re not all
placed somewhere else from serving our
country in World War two to taking his
RV down the coast of Central America he
has so much wisdom and insights and life
stories to offer play people like us and
unfortunately my grandpa is just one
example of someone who is still living
on his life the way he wants but there
are so many out there who still have
minds sharp as attacked and stories to
tell and yet can’t because their current
care situation puts them somewhere else
so it’s time to break down those silos
that segregate our community by age and
it’s time to think how we can take our
neighbors and community and integrate
these people back into our society
because by doing so we’ll become one
generation thank you
you
[Laughter]
you
you
[Applause]
there is something that every person and
creature on this planet I think can
relate to something as common as
breathing and that each one of you is
doing in your seats right now so any
guesses aging i’m talking about aging so
some of you in the audience are probably
thinking why is this 20 17 year-old girl
up on stage reminding me that I’m aging
I mean shoot I’ve got wrinkles that are
gonna do that please just stop but it’s
true whether you want to admit it or not
whether it’s a baby taking their first
few breasts in the world
or a person taking the very last every
second we’re all getting just a little
bit older now granted as I mentioned I’m
in my 20s so hopefully I have a couple
more years before I start seeing some
gray hairs but considering the
experience that I just saw my
grandparents go through the nursing home
it really got me thinking what that
stage of life was going to look like for
my parents and eventually myself and
maybe some of you in the audience right
now are thinking wow I really connect
with that because I’m going through that
with my mom or my dad right now or my
grandpa and my grandma it’s just really
hard for us so what are we doing to
improve the system though when people
find out that this is where I’m
interested in going with my career I was
get a lot of funny looks like why are
you interested in this and how did you
even start thinking about this I’m
pretty sure you’re one of the few
Millennials who has this on their radar
and it’s true I do feel like that and it
doesn’t sound like a very glamorous job
but I really think it could be so if
you’re wondering where my journey
started and why I’m doing this it all
started with an idea I had this summer
that got me excited to think I could be
a part of the solution this summer I was
in Atlanta having dinner at an old Sears
warehouse that had been completely
restored good at out restored tour you
could see the original structure except
now it was this really cool trendy hip
mixed-use space that was for coffee
shops and restaurants and bars and
breweries and you know artisan
crafts and stuff like that there was
Mini Putt Putt on top four people and an
indoor outdoor spaces for families to
enjoy and so I’m as I’m taking all of
this and I’m thinking wow this is just
so cool there’s such a life and vibrancy
here and then an idea hit me what if we
took the concept of a mixed-use space
and the life and vibrancy that comes
from that and apply it to senior living
and long-term care create the idea right
so actually take the assisted living the
independent living the nursing homes and
place them above or next to all the
actions that they too can enjoy it and
we have opportunities for the whole
family to come and enjoy the Botanical
Gardens around but also there’s
opportunities for residents to volunteer
maybe there’s a coffee shop there where
students like to go and study and hang
out and it’s open to the public but now
that coffee shop becomes a big part of
an elders day who lives around the area
who gets up in the morning and has a
reason to go have coffee around other
people maybe it isn’t a mixed-use space
but just a neighborhood so just imagine
a neighborhood here you have houses here
in houses your house is here and you
have parks and places and playgrounds
for kids to play and you also have a
community for seniors in the same
neighborhood so it’s not a place for
seniors but a place that just has seen
it there we as a society are guilty of
warehousing our greatest generation that
has contributed so much to our own
upbringing country we put them in places
that literally accelerate their aging to
where they can’t see their relevance in
the world anymore they lose their sense
of purpose their day’s monotonous the
games are the same and in some cases
feel a sense of elder abuse and neglect
I know this because I saw my grandparent
go through this the last four years of
his life when he was home elder neglect
is a serious issue in our community 60%
of elders don’t in nursing homes don’t
receive visitors and those that do
receive visitors only get visited about
once a year you just imagine that
imagine getting visited once a year
to make matters worse this is only going
to get worse in our country our country
is just one of many around the world
that is going to see a brink in a huge
surge in their senior population of
people turning over the age of 65 with
the baby boomer generation in our
country turning over 65 our country’s
population and aging is going to double
so we’re gonna see it go from 43 point 1
million to an estimated eighty three
point seven million by 2050 and by 2060
this is going to be 1/4 of our
population crazy so what are we doing to
improve the system I fixated in on this
one solution and it’s intergenerational
connected a connection intergenerational
communities are defined as communities
that promote interaction and cooperation
between individuals of different ages
and that focus on the needs of all
residents so to give you an example of
this there are nursing homes that are
putting preschools in date or putting
daycares and preschools in nursing homes
now so that the residents in these
places can volunteer with the kids and
read to them and watch them play outside
in the playground and it just brings a
new cool interaction between them
likewise there are some nice assisted
living communities that have beautiful
apartments that they’re opening up to
college students for free or subsidised
rent and in exchange their volunteer
time to be a companion to an elder
neighbor and help them with some
groceries or help them maybe cook a meal
or play a game or – one of my favorites
is a university in Seattle that decided
to start eating dormitories near long
term care and then actually offer meal
plans to college students to encourage
them to eat in the same dining halls as
their elders now I think these are all
wonderful ideas but I believe we can do
more of it and I believe we can do it
better we have the opportunity to be on
the brink of changing the status quo and
how we break down age segregation now
this is really important I don’t want
you to get caught up in how we’re going
to do this but rather why we should
believe in it in the first place we
should believe in intergenerational
connection as this
because we can all be a part of it and
by doing so and by believing this we
will naturally achieve how we’ll do it
too now studies show the
intergenerational connection benefit
many groups in our communities our youth
and our older adults just to give you an
example civic engagement a sharing of
stories and culture and attitude towards
our older adults positively affects our
community in our youth there’s academic
growth
there’s empathy there’s self esteem and
better health and well-being with our
elders as well as their cognitive
functioning and improved quality of
living so what I want you to do it
there’s a lot of kids in this room who
are going to college soon and I want you
to look about this list of majors now I
just told you about a huge market
opportunity here in a group of people
we’re gonna really need your help in an
area where your skill set the talents
are going to really be needed so what
way to see those connection points then
by actually going down this list of
majors at a university and seeing where
your interests apply so medical field is
a given but what about business or legal
or social work or hospitality or tech
you want to build apps work in a cool
startup community then great do that
this is my 91 year old grandma playing
on her iPad words with friends so maybe
you’re working in the startup and you’re
doing all that cool stuff with the apps
but you’re thinking about her and how
she can connect with other elders around
the world there’s people who are
bringing virtual reality technology into
the nursing homes to where people who
haven’t been able to leave homes for a
while to now put on those glasses and
actually feel like they’re walking down
the streets of Italy pretty cool there’s
actually hearing aids now too that are
Bluetooth enabled so you can all operate
it on your phone so what I want you to
do then I want you to get caught up in
in how we’re going to do this but why
it’s going to be important then from
there your ideas will start to think we
are all relevant in this
a Shinto maybe it’s the English majors
here who can actually a class credit and
partner with the universities to where
they’re actually getting class credit to
help write memoirs with our seniors and
then also film and journalism students
can get together and leave they’re
filming these stories of our seniors and
them preserving them for families in
modern ways that they can be passed down
to other generations I just want your
mom wheels to get turning on how you are
relevant in this and how you can apply
your skillset to this group of people
who are desperately going to need our
help and how we can reintegrate this
group into our society so what I want to
cause off with is a problem an old
African proverb that a friend of mine
shared with me once it says when a man
dies an entire library burns so I wanted
to show you what this looked like to me
to do that I took my grandpa’s timeline
and put it up here he’s 91 years old
today and he is doing great loving life
living with his wife on their piece of
land five acres with their two dogs and
very happy but just to show you and get
to Indian idea of what all these
chapters in his life look like in the
importance of preserving his stories and
also interaction with our elders and
appreciating them and integrating them
back into societies that they’re not all
placed somewhere else from serving our
country in World War two to taking his
RV down the coast of Central America he
has so much wisdom and insights and life
stories to offer play people like us and
unfortunately my grandpa is just one
example of someone who is still living
on his life the way he wants but there
are so many out there who still have
minds sharp as attacked and stories to
tell and yet can’t because their current
care situation puts them somewhere else
so it’s time to break down those silos
that segregate our community by age and
it’s time to think how we can take our
neighbors and community and integrate
these people back into our society
because by doing so we’ll become one
generation thank you
you
Please follow and like us: