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Can community design take the loneliness and angst out of aging?

Erika Fredrickson

July 19, 2018 |

Missoula Independent |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Missoula, Montana

By 2025, 25% of Montana’s population is expected to be over the age of 65. Bill Thomas and Kavan Peterson are two leaders in approaching how to improve the experience of aging, in Montana and around the globe. They have tried many approaches, but what unites them all is using creative design tactics to make a more positive living experience for the elderly. By focusing on integrating architecture, culture, and technology, nursing homes can be transformed, loneliness can decrease, and aging people’s quality of health and life can improve.

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In Kotzebue, Alaska, Hunters Are Bringing Traditional Foods—and a Sense of Comfort—to Their Local Elders

Charlee Catherine Dyroff

July 17, 2018 |

Pacific Standard |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Kotzebue, Alaska

In the northernmost nursing home in the U.S.,the Hunter Support Program has existed for more than two decades in an attempt to provide traditional foods to Kotzebue, Alaska's elders. While the program has faced roadblocks, the program's model of person-centered care has been hailed as a clear positive for the elders and the overall community. So much so that, in 2014, an amendment titled "Service of Traditional Foods in Public Facilities" was passed as a way to formally recognize the necessity of traditional food in the nursing home.

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Britain trials virtual reality time travel to combat dementia

Lee Mannion

July 03, 2018 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: England, London

By 2025, Britain expects to have one million citizens suffering from dementia. The National Health Service is testing a new form of therapy where scenes reminiscent of a person with dementia's past are played on a virtual reality headset. So far, research shows that bringing up images, objects, and discussions from a person's past can help them recover more memories, connect better with family members, and achieve better mental health.

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Loneliness can kill you — but is it government's job to solve it?

Jennifer Guay

June 26, 2018 |

Apolitical |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Denmark, Aarhus

Loneliness and social isolation are on the rise globally, and feelings of loneliness can be extremely detrimental to health and longevity. In Denmark, the "National Movement Against Loneliness" and GENLYD train community members to recognize signs of loneliness and refer those at risk to these programs and provide services such as group dinners and group activities based on hobby.

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Dementia program in Peel 'should spread like wildfire'

Moira Welsh

June 20, 2018 |

Toronto Star |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, Peel, Ontario

Dementia units and long-term care homes for the elderly are often desolate and lonely places, with harried workers attempting to meet the needs of their patients while also meeting government-set metrics of success. For families and individuals, it can be difficult to imagine a better way. However, a pilot program in Canada called the Butterfly room is showing that dedicated efforts to making long-term care homes a vibrant and loving place for someone's last days has positive impacts for everyone - and is worth a government investment do right across the country.

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New Zealand care workers pioneered a deal to end pay segregation

Anna Louie Sussman

June 18, 2018 |

Apolitical |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: New Zealand

Undervaluation of care work stems from gender bias. A labor union brought this argument to court in New Zealand and won big. The settlement nearly doubled wages for workers, which has led to the added bonus of less staff turnover. Similar claims from more female-dominated professions are in progress.

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Golden girls: how beauty therapy boosts self-esteem in care homes

Anna Leach

June 07, 2018 |

The Guardian |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom

A good pampering can feel fantastic. Beauty and wellness experiences such as pedicures and massages are particularly special for women and men in care homes, lifting moods and helping individuals express themselves. “It’s rewarding, humbling, a privilege,” Back to Beauty founder Sarah Rigden says. “They come in a little bit stressed and a little bit anxious, and they go out with a smile on their face.”

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Why Japan is paying single mothers to move to the countryside

Susie Armitage

June 06, 2018 |

Public Radio International (PRI) |

Multi-Media |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Japan, Hamada

Small towns in Japan like Hamada are recruiting single mothers in an effort to boost their declining population, and care of their aging one. They recruit single mothers by offering them jobs at the local nursing homes, paying them while they get trained, covering their moving costs, part of their rent, and a offering them a used car.

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Fostering Connections Between Young and Old

Julie Halpert

June 05, 2018 |

The New York Times |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Mitchelville, Maryland

Programs that promote interaction between young and old people benefit both groups emotionally. At a retirement community, Collington, music students perform for and interact with the residents in return for free room and board. Pop-up concerts and shared meals form friendships of the sort that research shows can reduce older adults' loneliness and increase their cognitive engagement. Young people gain in empathy, while both groups can make each other feel more needed. Programs responding to social isolation also bring children as young as infants into senior housing.

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VA turns to foster care for veterans instead of putting them in nursing homes

Patricia Kime

May 26, 2018 |

The Washington Post |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

The Medical Foster Home Program places military veterans with chronic, debilitating diseases into foster homes rather than assisted living facilities. These homes must meet strict regulations and the caregivers must be able to give care 24/7 or have relief help if they are unable to be there all of the time. This program decreases the number of trips and admissions to the hospital among participants, and offers them a living situation that is more similar to being in their own home.

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