Interview: BCCF Intergenerational Programs

The BC Council for Families (BCCF) has been offering resources and accessible training over the last several years to help agencies in BC embrace the intergenerational approach to program delivery in family support. Through BCCF, we have connected with some interesting developments in this style of service delivery in BC, along with training supports for child and family services who are interested in incorporating this type of programming.

Joseph Dunn, Executive Director of BCCF, comments, “Intergenerational programs offer an effective way to connect communities, respond to isolation and share learning”. He notes that, currently, there are several Parent-Child Mother Goose programs in BC that are incorporating seniors and senior centres participating together with families with young children in this early attachment and literacy programming. BCCF is keen to bring awareness of an intergenerational approach to family services offerings and encourage enthusiasm in developing more intergenerational programs throughout the province.

Intergenerational programs have been shown to:

· increase a sense of belonging

· mitigate loneliness

· increase a sense of neighbourliness

· allow wisdom to be passed through the generations

· decrease ageism

· improve wellness

· increase learning

· improve emergency outcomes due to increased sense of what others need

· as well as encourage volunteerism and civic engagement.

Lynn Joseph, Coordinator at BCCF, connected us with the InterGenNS project in North Vancouver, that is helping to connect generations on the North Shore while providing resources to help community partners establish intergenerational programming. We attended a webinar, hosted by Lynn Joseph, Weaving Intergenerational Connections into Communities, that focused on the work being done by InterGenNS and spoke with Yola Switkowski and Caitlyn Swail, coordinators for InterGenNS through North Shore Community Services, who outlined the history of the project and their current work.

The InterGenNS Project was initiated in the fall of 2019 when a community table of organizations from the North Shore, spurred by the initiative of a local resident, was established with the objective of increasing intergenerational opportunities, resources and collated information to help the community to connect to events and programs on the North Shore.

· July 2019: Initial idea of Coordinated Intergenerational Project

· October 2019: Steering Committee and Community Round Table

· March 2020: Connected with SFU Gerontology Program

· The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the program timelines, but:

· September 2020: (PHASE 1) Onboarded research assistant and secured CERi Grant

· April 2021: (PHASE 2) Expansion of InterGenNS Project and secured Mitacs Grant

· October 2021: (PHASE 3) Expansion of InterGenNS Project and secure 2nd Mitacs Grant

· InterGenNS hired a coordinator, to work from North Shore Community Resources, for the pilot phase of this project from January-June 2022.

· A website was developed for InterGenNS.

· Best practice worldwide Intergenerational opportunities were collated for ideas.

Over 5000 people have since engaged with the program. The primary reach of the InterGenNS project came through initial outreach to the community through the 30+ partnering organizations, community presentations, directory and website information. The project is currently connected with 70+ partnering organizations. With the Directory and Resource Hub Development InterGenNS are now able to assist the public to know what opportunities are available and where, allowing the public to connect to them. The research on well-respected and innovative worldwide opportunities they were able to do allows organizations easy access to identify gaps and opportunities for new program ideas that can be emulated and scaled up in the local community.

An Intergenerational Program Directory of North Shore opportunities was developed and can be found on the InterGenNS website. A Resource Hub to support organizations with Intergenerational programming was developed. The first issue of the InterGenNS Community Connector Newsletter was released on June 1, 2022 for Intergenerational Day

Dr. Habib Chaudhury, Rachelle Patille, and Sue Carabetta, of the SFU Gerontology Program, were awarded the CERi Special Recognition Award for their work on the InterGenNS project, developed in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, to reduce social isolation through intergenerational programming on the North Shore. A useful background on the rationale and early development stages of the project, co-authored by Rachelle Patille and Dr. Habib Chaudhury, is available at https://www.sfu.ca/ceri/blog/2022/InterGenNS.html

The article states, “More than ever, it is now socially common for family members to live in distant geographical locations, making it increasingly difficult to sustain close ties between generations. These social factors were among the driving forces that brought a community of individuals and sectors together to advocate and facilitate integration among ages in the North Shore of British Columbia”.

The authors note, “The Steering Committee members are diverse, dynamic and have an array of community contacts on the North Shore. As this project was strongly community-driven, it allowed for unique possibilities of community engagement, which in turn contributed to depth and breadth in the research….It’s worth noting that this community engaged project focusing on intergenerational programs was led by an intergenerational team, as it included ages from 22 through to 70+”.

InterGenNS currently operates with four pillars. They have a website with program directory, newsletter and resource hub, direct community programming in collaboration with a local school, the community network and intergenerational hub of networking, collaboration, and bringing people together to communicate and develop Intergenerational programming with facilitated community meetings. They have managed to build “a ton of momentum” and are looking for funding to carry them forward. They are currently located within seniors funding streams and have funding to next September through SPARC, BC Healthy Communities Age Friendly Communities Grant with support from the District of West Vancouver, and the West Vancouver Foundation.

Yola Switkowski says, “We have seen so many connections, so much interest and passion, so many groups excited about this work and doing more IG programming.” Caitlyn Swail comments on the benefits: “It is really undeniable when you see intergenerational progamming happening in long term programs – it’s magical. We naturally crave those connections and we miss them in our lives. Older people have a lot of energy to give and nowhere to put it sometimes.” She hopes, “People creating the programs creates a community of practice and excitement leading to new programs being created.” She notes, too, that, beyond the programs, which are amazing, it would be wonderful to find ways to weave intergenerational relationships in a more integrated way into our lives.

Current intergenerational programming on the North Shore includes, amongst others, a Bedtime Story Program at North Vancouver City Library, Intergenerational Puppet Theatre at the Mt. Seymour Provincial Park Heritage Centre, and Parent-Child Mother Goose programs based out of seniors’ care facilities.

As well as on the North Shore, intergenerational Parent-Child Mother Goose programs are also running in the Kamloops area. The Kamloops intergenerational program began in 2014 at Gemstone Care Centre with twelve families with young children, 4–6 residents and 1–2 care aides. From this model, several other intergenerational programs were initiated, with two additional Parent-Child Mother Goose locations at Kamloops Seniors Village and Desert Gardens, as well as School District 73 Strongstart “Grandfriends Program,” various daycares and preschools, and provided inspiration for a municipal library intergenerational storytime program in Sherwood Park, Alberta. Cost sharing increases the chance of sustainability for programs, and funding opportunities have been explored through both seniors and early years funding sources.

The Provincial Coordinator for Parent Child Mother Goose in BC is Lynne Reside. The role of the Provincial Coordinator is to build a network between the facilitators of PCMG in BC and to provide support and advocacy, maintain quality assurance, and provide learning opportunities for this highly valued program that has been in existence for over 40 years in Canada. It has been a key program with BC Council for Families for over 20 years.

There are many successful Parent Child Mother Goose programs being provided through the province to educate families about the importance of attachment and early literacy development. Programs may serve a specific demographic such as Indigenous families on reserve and in urban settings, newcomer and immigrant families, programs delivered in the family’s first language, families living in poverty, young parents, and families in rural and isolated communities throughout the province.

There are a number of programs being offered that recognize the value of a family literacy approach when working with parents and have developed programs specifically focused on including grandparents and other family members. For many of the same reasons that have been mentioned already, the provincial office for PCMG programs in BC is very interested in providing support and any training needed to build their programs into an intergenerational model. For more information contact Lynne Reside at lynner@bccf.ca

A podcast interview with Maureen Doll, Coordinator for the Kamloops Early Language and Literacy Initiative (KELLI), with details about how the Parent-Child Mother Goose program operates at Gemstone Care Centre, is available on the BCCF website at: https://www.bccf.ca/bccf/resources/intergenerational-parent-child-mother-goose-program/

Maureen Doll notes, “So it is just like your typical Mother Goose program, we all come in. Those who need to stay in their wheelchairs, stay in their wheelchairs. If they have a walker, we have a chair for them, and the rest of us sit on the floor in a circle and we do traditional Mother Goose songs, stories and rhymes.” After a 20-minute snack break that gives opportunities for relationship building, conversations, and for residents to hold babies, there is a more energetic stand up song time, using songs that would be familiar to the seniors from their youth, where families dance around the walkers and wheelchairs and the seniors sway and clap in rhythm and sing along. She says, “It is just a really amazing and magical environment to be in.”

The conversation moves on to the value of music for residents with various forms of dementia. Some largely non-vocal participants engage and start singing, especially with the traditional nursery rhymes. Using traditional fables and stories also serves as a point of connection, “and you can see them, again, kind of connecting the dots and even sometimes starting to join in on the story as well.”

Amongst other benefits, Maureen says, “The other thing that is incredibly powerful is seeing the children, because when children come into a room, they don’t know to be afraid of a wheelchair, they think it is an amazing thing. They don’t know to keep your distance. And that’s great, because there are no preconceived notions about the senior population. So you see children literally trying to climb up onto somebody’s lap on a wheelchair, or trying to feed them snack at snack time, hugging and kissing the residents, and this may be some of that physical connection that residents haven’t had in decades, especially if they don’t have their own children or own grandchildren living in their community. I think that, in itself, can be a really great source of breaking stereotypes there as well.”

She concludes, “And the last thing that I would say is that there are many of the participating families who have made such strong connections with residents that they are actually coming to visit outside the program. And that was one of our really big goals, and we are building stronger communities by doing that, just taking care of each other.”

The first intergenerational Parent-Child Mother Goose program on the North Shore began in 2016 at Lynn Valley Care Centre, with 15 families with children under 1, 25 residents, and 2 care aides. Further programs have since been initiated at Maison and Amica care facilities.

Patricia Asbun, CCRR Community Support Consultant, North Shore Community Resources, who coordinates the North Shore Parent-Child Mother Goose intergenerational programs, participated, along with Maureen Doll, in a presentation on their intergenerational Parent-Child Mother Goose programs https://interprofessional.ubc.ca/files/2018/01/D8_Martin-Ko.pdf , noting that participatory singing has shown marked improvements for seniors who suffer from dementia.

· A recent study shows that dementia and Alzheimer’s patients can recall memories and emotions and have enhanced mental performance after singing.

· The brain is activated by emotions and memories attached to music and songs.

· Singing songs and using rhymes that are familiar (like old nursery rhymes and classic songs) that will stimulate this brain activity in seniors are most effective.

· Music and rhyming is considered a ‘physical activity’ – physical engagement and closeness creates attunement to others (similar to the benefits that affect infants).

· Musical aptitude and music appreciation are two of the last remaining abilities that connect in brains of patients with Alzheimer’s and Dementia.

The North Shore programs have also experienced report of previously withdrawn seniors re-engaging or coming to “life” during the sessions.

Parent feedback has included comments such as:

· “It’s the single best thing I have done with my baby”

· “I actually like this better than the regular MG groups.”

· “I enjoy seeing the excitement of the babies as we sing, as well as the joy and excitement in the residents as they watch us.”

From seniors who participate in the program”

· “It brings back a feeling of family, wonderful memories of nurturing my own children.”

· “If it is Mother Goose day and someone visits me – they have to come too – I don’t want to miss the smiling children’s faces.”

And from care centre staff:

· “I see the seniors to be happier, more compliant and in some cases, medications have been reduced.”

· “Watching the relationships build across the generations is amazing. I love seeing how the children ‘walk’ the residents in and out of the group.”

BCCF offer a variety of training workshops to help those wanting to offer intergenerational programming in their communities, exploring:

· The types of intergenerational programs

· The benefits of intergenerational relationships

· Program challenges and success stories

Information and registration can be found at https://www.bccf.ca/program/intergenerational-programs/

· Intergenerational Program Development, Level 1: The Basics of Planning an Intergenerational Program

· Intergenerational Program Development, Level 2: How to Implement and Evaluate an IG program

· Sensitivity Training for Youth and Seniors: “You will experience first-hand how to train the youth and seniors to better understand and interact with each other in respectful and appropriate ways. The PowerPoint slides and training guide will be yours to take with you.”

The InterGenNS Resource Hub, at https://community.nscr.ca/resource-hub/ , offers a variety of guides, toolkits and workshop offerings for those interested in developing intergenerational programs.

Yola and Caitlyn leave us with three starting points to consider:

· Think of a space that is not currently intergenerational, or is currently age segregated – how would you make it intergenerational?

· Think of a program you currently run or know or that is not intergenerational, how could you make it more intergenerational?

· How can we foster more intergenerational connections in our own lives?

Feature Stories, Program DeliveryJessica CampbellMay 28, 2024