The Connecting Caring Communities
Partnership

The Partnership’s goal is “to strengthen the system of long term care for Milwaukee County’s older adults through developing, nurturing and supporting partnerships with all stakeholders.” There are some 125 members of the partnership from organizations as diverse as major corporations, labor unions and older adult consumers. Research by the Partnership clarified that personal safety concerns were more perception than reality for older adults – that fear was driven more by the differences in age and cultural background between the elders and newer residents than by the actual occurrence of crime in their neighborhoods. Much of the partnership’s planning was based on the “asset based community development approach” of locating all the available local assets and building upon them.

Successes:

• The creation of elder friendly neighborhoods built intergenerational bridges which resulted in an exchange of assistance between teens and seniors. After an opportunity to talk safely and respectfully using “peacemaking circles,” misperceptions and fears between older adults and local teenagers were greatly reduced.
• A Senior Warriors initiative was founded by a resident of one of the neighborhoods. Traffic was very heavy on her street, making it extremely dangerous for older adults using walkers or canes to cross to the bus stop. The resident started a petition drive for a traffic light at the intersection, and attended a hearing with a group of seniors. Within months, a light was installed. A city alderman suggested that she organize the Senior Warriors, saying “you need a fireplug” to get things done sometimes. A later initiative led by this group secured funding for continued operation of a Senior Shuttle.
• The partnership created a neighborhood gathering place in Sherman Park where a core group of older residents attend activities three times a week at the “mini senior center.” They received training on computers and the internet, and donated computers were delivered to the homes of 17 older adults to promote their sense of connection and reduce isolation.

Real Life Impact:

Ruth Nolan used to know everyone on her block, a tree-lined street in Shorewood just outside the city of Milwaukee limits dotted with bungalows and well-maintained homes.  Ruth has lived in her home for 55 years – her husband Wally passed away 5 years ago.  She doesn’t know many of the neighbors anymore. At age 80, Ruth doesn’t get out of the house much, and she’s worried that her husband’s pension won’t be enough to cover living expenses plus the new roof and paint job she needs.  She’s afraid to drive very far and has trouble with the stairs that lead to and from her front door.  She finds a neighborhood teen to help with shoveling and lawn mowing, but otherwise doesn’t have much contact with the neighbors.  She wonders how long she can hold out, and whether she should move out of the neighborhood to the assisted living facility her family talks about.  Deep down, she knows she doesn’t want to move, but what choice does she have?

In the Prospect/Farwell neighborhood, just adjacent to Ruth’s neighborhood, the Connecting Caring Communities’ Neighborhood Partnership meeting is in full swing, with the room packed.  Twenty-seven people have come to the meeting to discuss how to engage more neighborhood seniors in the ongoing activities of the neighborhood – the meal program offered at Chai Point with a spectacular view of Lake Michigan, free Wednesday afternoons at the Charles Allis Art Museum right smack dab in the middle of the neighborhood, special events sponsored by the Brady Street Neighborhood Association.  The people at the meeting represent the local hospital, older adult service providers, the neighborhood association, local arts programs, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, older adult residents, and neighborhood grocer Whole Foods.    New connections are being made, resources are discovered, and new life is being breathed into the neighborhood. 

The same thing is happening in other neighborhoods throughout Milwaukee County, starting with the Layton Boulevard and Sherman Park neighborhoods, continuing with the Prospect/Farwell and West Allis neighborhoods, with at least three new neighborhoods waiting in the wings.  Ruth Nolan’s neighborhood is one that is ripe for a partnership. 

The idea behind a neighborhood partnership is a simple one: older adults want to stay in and stay connected to their neighborhoods, and neighborhoods have many assets to offer in helping older adults do just that. The Connecting Caring Communities project is coming to Ruth’s neighborhood, and coming to neighborhoods throughout Milwaukee County, building partnerships, one neighborhood at a time.

“We have done work that we never expected, and because
we spent significant time listening to older adults,
our initiatives were very responsive to them.
The Partnership helped everyone shift from thinking about services to
thinking about the lives of older adults and what the say they need.”
– A partnership member