Best of Communities: IX. Community for Elders

IX. Community for Elders In contrast with a generation ago, the two most distinctive aspects of the Intentional Communities Movement today are: a) the impact of the internet on our ability to find out what’s happening; and b) that so many people over 50 are trying community living for the first time. It used be that first- time community experimentation was almost wholly limited to people in their 20s and 30s. Not any more! That makes the theme of Elders doubly potent today—both because communities tend to last lon- ger now (since it’s so easy to find out what others have learned, many of the common mistakes can be avoided, and younger members inevitably become older members if the group lasts long enough) and because so many join today as seniors or nearly so.When you add in the fact that there’s growing evidence that a sense of community and connection are directly related to longevity and quality of life, it’s no wonder that Communities issues focused on eldering sell out fast. This Community for Elders bundle has 15 articles that explore the options for aging in community and the dynamism of intergenerational living. This Digital Issue on Community for Elders includes: 1. To the Ecovillage: Do Family Dynamics Change When Three Generations Move to the Same Community? by Diana Leafe Christian, #112 2. Graying in Community . . . Can we continue to live in community as we grow older? by Darin Fenger, #132 3. Supporting the Aging Process in Community by Marie H. Schutz, #89 4. Listening to the Wisdom of Our Elders by Elizabeth Younger, #89 5. Growth and Well-Being in a Senior Co-op (including Senior Housing Co-ops, Deborah Altus) by Bevelyn Carpenter, #89 6. Friendship & Shared Living by Margaret Harmon, #89 7. How Will I Live My Elder Years in Community? by Neshama Abraham Paiss, #119 8. It Takes a Community to Grow an Elder by Rebecca Dale, #149 9. Elderhood, In and Out of Community by Dianne Brause, #149 10. Fear of Change in Long-Term Intentional Communities and Ecovillages by Coyote Alberto Ruz, #157 11. Embracing a Terminal Illness by Fred Lanphear, #145 12. Aging in Community by Raines Cohen, #149 13. Elder Cohousing: An Idea Whose Time Has Come? (including What Older Cohousers Say about Elder Cohousing, Craig Ragland) by Neshama Abraham and Kate deLaGrange, #132 14. Community and Health: Immigrant Senior Cohousing in the Netherlands by Dorit Fromm and Els de Jong, #145 15. Senior Cohousing: Establishing a Healthy, Sustainable Lifestyle for an Aging Generation by Chuck Durrett, #145