Imagine being in a nursing home, surrounded by other elders, without your family. Contrary to a popular belief, nursing homes can be very lonely place for elderly people. 43% of older adults experience social isolation.
And loneliness is a killer. It evolves into depression and pushes mental and physical decline on people who mostly need the opposite. They need fun, humor, entertainment, happiness, love, that’s what gives them life.
So, why don’t we do something about it?
In Providence Mount St. Vincent, Seattle, WA, something amazing has happened at the Inter-Generational Learning Center to ensure that the elderly people at their nursing home are happy.
They decided to put a pre-school in a nursing home. Family members and staff were all pleasantly surprised to see the huge difference it made in the lives of both the elderly and the children.
In a way, it makes perfect sense to put a nursing home together with a pre-school. Children and elderly people do share a lot of similarities and have a lot to offer each other. The children provide that childish hope and wander to the elderly, that excitement for life and fun and games. And the elderly people, well who can give a better advice and piece of wisdom to a kid than them?
Inspired by: http://www.collective-evolution.com;
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