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From The Times Record, June 27, 2007
'Linking the generations'
By Rachel Ganong
Times Record Staff
BRUNSWICK
One woman transmitted it a year ago. Since then its has spread to major
community outposts. Now it's set to infect the entire Brunswick community,
from young children to aging adults.
What is it?
It's the concept or vision, rather of creating a community
organization in Brunswick that includes all ages.
And who's that woman?
She's Nancy Henkin, director of Temple University's Center for
Intergenerational Learning in Philadelphia and chief proponent of
Brunswick's Community For All Ages effort.
Henkin introduced the idea to townspeople during a forum held in
Brunswick in May 2006. In response, a steering committee of community
leaders organized through People Plus started assessing how Brunswick could
foster meaningful interaction between generations.
Their work received support from the New York City-based Florence V..
Burden Foundation, which provided $25,000 for a part-time coordinator. The
organization, whose involvement with People Plus was fostered by Henkin,
funds efforts promoting community throughout New England.
Danylle Rudin, executive director of the Florence V. Burden Foundation,
said the foundation chose to provide a grant to Brunswick so the town could
formalize multi-age interactions that were already happening with the town
teen center in the basement of the People Plus Center on Noble Street, in
its library and through other organizations.
People here are very thoughtful about this," she said. It's not what
we see in other communities."
This week, both Henkin and Rudin traveled to Brunswick to see how a community for all ages has begun to transform from an idea to a vision.
Both spent four hours with steering committee members on Monday,
hearing plans to identify existing intergenerational interactions among
Brunswick organizations and forge new ones.
On Tuesday morning, Henkin again spoke to a group of 40 at the People
Plus annual board of trustees meeting, many of whom attended the forum in
May 2006. Her audience also included community leaders such as School
Superintendent James Ashe, Economic Development Director Mathew Eddy, Teen
Center Director Deb Leslie, Parks and Recreation Director Tom Farrell and
Community Police Officer Terry Goan representatives of civic
infrastructure who are vital to creating places where people of all ages
can benefit from each other, she said.
If you look at our environment, it's age-segregated," Henkin told the
group, encouraging them to look at society in a way that pulls people from
traditional age groupings.
Such an approach can result in simple things like placing park benches
for older adults near playgrounds for young children or organizing young
people to shovel snow for older citizens who need help something that
could have the added benefit of keeping people in their homes longer.
Henkin also is working with other towns in New York, Indiana, Arizona
and other states to help them develop an all-age community mentality. Of
Brunswick, she said, The people have really embraced the concept. It's
part of the vocabulary now."
Because of that attitude, Henkin sees Brunswick as poised to become a
model for other communities that could spur a flurry of better
relationships between ages and better societies overall.
It's relationships we have in life that make life worth living," she
said.