I had been aware for sometime of a growing movement in the United States for Intergenerational Care as a solution to our burgeoning elder population. What surprised me at this conference was the fact that it is a global concern. Representatives from Japan, China, Singapore, Spain, Portugal, England, Italy, Ecuador, Canada and Australia were in attendance and we learned of what is going on or not, in their countries as far as intergenerational care for the elderly.
There are many solutions to the problem of our aging population. We learned about specific communities, to relationships with children, recovered addicts, college students, animals, elders in schools and more.
We also learned that in many countries, governments are not taking care of this problem which leaves private industry, religious movements and civic groups to fill in. One comment by a woman from England, was ‘I think it should be a right for elderly people to have appropriate care’ .
There was huge camaraderie among the 300+ attendees of the conference. Everyone was searching for a way to make it work, so that there are no more frail, lonely elders by themselves anywhere. These bookend generations, young children and the elderly describe who we are as a global community. They have been segregated for years. The solution is to reunite them and watch the magic happen.
