One way to solve the problem, while also fostering community, is to share a location.
Here, four places and programs that are happy to share.
Neveln Community Resource Center
In 1992, the Ankeny Community School District had to make a decision.
Should it tear down a tired but historical 1919 building that no longer housed an elementary school?
Or should it substantially renovate the building to meet the diverse needs of the fast-growing city?
The needs of children, teens, single parents and older adults were considered.
The rent money would cover the building’s maintenance and operational expenses.
A bank waived collateral for a loan that has long since been paid back.
Today, the Neveln Center is indeed self-sustaining and a thriving community resource.
Three churches rent space for services.
Lessees receive 12 hours a month of free conference space.
“Neveln centralizes a lot of services and is an incubator for other activities,” Van Oort says.
The city decided to locate where the Edina Library was.
(The existing senior center had been in borrowed space.)
Both groups moved to the new building in 2002.
Hennepin Countyowns and maintains the library while the city is responsible for the senior center’s costs.
Shared-spaces expenses are shared.
Having a library upstairs is handy for people who use the senior center.
They come to read newspapers, do crossword puzzles, use a computer and take out books.
In the beginning, the senior center was used only during the day and only by older adults.
There’s also drop-inpickleball, family bingo night and special events like a fashion seminar.
Something in abundance at the Multi-Generational Center are centers there’s one each for children, teens and seniors.
Kids can attend a soccer academy ($15) or learn model rocketry ($12).
Parents can take parenting classes.
Visual and performing arts classes are also offered.
Each of the seven partner organizations at the center gets a 10-year lease for just $1 a year.
The nursing home leases the classrooms to the school district for $1 a year.
There’s outdoor space for kids to play and residents to engage or watch.
Those in long-term care can also observe the action through 20-foot glass walls and windows.
Every morning, GLC residents line up to high-five the kids as they come to school.
Students and residents meet in the lunchroom to spend time reading together one-on-one.
Each afternoon in shared study, residents and children work together around curriculum goals.
For instance, they might count and create patterns together or engage in a science investigation.
On Wednesdays, the residents and kids enjoy ice cream from the on-site ice cream parlor.
The first group of children arrived in 1999.
Today, there’s a long waiting list for the 50-odd pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classes.
That person will know the residents' abilities and can be present when the two generations are together.
“The liaison is the key that makes it all work,” she says.
Sally Abrahms writes about caregiving, baby boomers, housing, retirement and aging-in-place topics.
