Sometimes aging adults need someone to step up and advocate for them because of communication barriers and other disabilities. But it’s also true that our aging community needs proactive advocates because our own culture and social constructions tend to undermine the independence and dignity they deserve and underestimate the resources they should have access to.
Continue ReadingCaregivers have enormous amounts of responsibility when caring for an aging adult on a daily basis. But these responsibilities eventually boil down to two important issues: how to fill the day, and how to fill the day productively and meaningfully. Time, and the weight of it, balances with the responsibility to better the life of […]
Continue ReadingIt was a dream come true for Laura when she was finally able to move out of a San Mateo nursing home back into her own apartment. Thanks to the Community Care Settings Pilot (CCSP) program through Institute on Aging, her inpatient rehabilitation after a major car accident didn’t go on longer than it needed […]
Continue ReadingOne of the problems with aging in America is that, for various reasons, your world can become easily constricted. Streets and sidewalks aren’t designed with the needs of older adults in mind. Friends move away or pass on. Driving becomes more difficult. And for some reason, as a society, we feel that increased isolation is […]
Continue ReadingWhere does creative power come from? Does it spring from the tempest-tossed genius, slashing at the canvas with a paintbrush? Or is it found more in the inner world of the introvert, working away in a small, dingy studio? It can come from many things, but we tend to imagine the ability as being innate. […]
Continue ReadingWhat does the world look like when you’ve never seen it? How do you express what’s inside of you when you can’t see what’s outside? How do you capture emotions on paper when you can’t remember what colors look like? For most of us, even trying to think of answers to these questions would be […]
Continue ReadingOn January 28th, the year turned over to 4715, as one of the world’s oldest cultures celebrated the birth of a new year. All across San Francisco and the Bay Area, celebrations rang forth as thousands poured into the street to ring in the Chinese New Year. For some, it was a party, a magical […]
Continue ReadingMost cities are built with a certain geometric order in mind. They have a plan, and a system—all hard angles and neat lines. Streets blend into each other, and one block flows to the next: orderly, structured, and sensical. Graffiti, then, is a delirious blow against that order, an explosion of color and chaos. It’s […]
Continue ReadingWhen Alfred began showing early signs of dementia, his family was deeply concerned about what to do. How quickly would his mental condition deteriorate? Would they be able to communicate with him for much longer? These questions swirled in their heads, as 70-year-old Alfred began to struggle with speech and memory. He gradually became more […]
Continue ReadingElizabeth had always been an extrovert. Whether she was starring in school plays as a kid, leading the debate team to state championships, or cutting it up on the dance floor in college, Elizabeth knew how to have a good time. Her outgoing personality was like a magnet; never short of friends, she was always […]
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