Articles of InterestIntergenerational shared sites that bring childcare and eldercare under the same roof help both generations thrive, and we need to build more of them.
Intergenerational shared sites are not a new concept in the United States. Messiah Lifeways, a residential community for older adults in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, opened more than 40 years ago with a childcare center and preschool on its campus. It’s still thriving today.
For years, researchers have studied care programs for children and older adults that share the same building or campus, and foster relationships across generations. Although shared sites vary widely, the most common model pairs preschools with adult day care or nursing homes. A typical day at ONEgeneration in Van Nuys, California, for example, includes older adults doing watercolor art with toddlers, holding and feeding babies in the infant room, and teaching preschoolers Mandarin or Spanish. [Click here to read the rest of the article]
