The University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine’s Center on Aging is launching a new program this fall aimed at fostering meaningful relationships between Vermont teens and seniors, Seven Days reports. The program, Vermont Youth Leaders in Aging, was conceived by Marissa Birne, M.Ed., the Center on Aging’s associate director of education. To fund it, Birne applied for a fellowship from the Eisner Foundation, started by former Walt Disney Company CEO Michael Eisner; her project was one of just five across the country to receive the $50,000 award.
From September to May, a cadre of 30 to 50 high school students will visit local senior living communities every other week to engage with residents in activities centered on art, music, and cooking. A group of UVM medical, graduate, and undergraduate student facilitators will train the high schoolers in how to work with older adults; participants also will meet monthly to learn about aging-related careers and research in the field of gerontology.
Research shows that interacting across generations benefits young and old alike. Birne has observed those benefits firsthand. “For younger people, what we’ve really seen is an increase in empathy and appreciation for older adults,” she said. “There are so many negative stereotypes about what it means to grow older, but when you have positive relationships, that’s what sticks.”
Older adults, meanwhile, find purpose in knowing their stories and presence matter to a younger person, Birne said. Regularly interacting with young people can also be a balm for the feelings of loneliness and isolation that many seniors experience.