“Older age gifts us a distinct period of exploration and reinvention, if we allow ourselves to deeply connect to our creativity and to each other,” said Katie Wade, senior director of Creative Engagement. “The symposium is a place for everyone to explore fresh ideas about aging that are often held in the professional realm but not readily available in mainstream thought.”

The theme of this year’s symposium, Rooted in Belonging, is timely and vital, said Wade. “Cultivating roots of belonging – in your surroundings, a phase of life, within your spiritual compass – unlocks our resiliency, our ability to transform and reinvent.”  This year’s symposiums feature special musical performances, inspirational speakers, and interactive experiences that will spark new ideas or powerful reminders about how we belong to ourselves and others.

Oshea Luja, the artistic director of Still Waters Network and a speaker for this year’s symposium, shared, “We belong by default. It’s not something we have to be invited to, as we are reflections of each other.” The symposium will explore this concept and more, as presenters examine how creativity grounds people’s sense of self and creates community.

Another presenter is curator, coach, art critic, and cultural advisor Piedad Casas Otoya, who “will explore how we create and sustain our sense of belonging as we age, despite life’s challenges and changes,” said Lizette Suarez, director of Well Connected Español. Other speakers and presenters include musician Tammy Hall, writer and psychotherapist Dr. Regina Razon Goldfeder, visual artist Christine Wong Yap, and others.

“We are excited to see what all the speakers have prepared as we dive deeply into our sense of belonging in different stages of life,” said Suarez.

To register, please go to creativeagingsymposium.org or envejecimientocreativo.org and click on the Register Now button. The suggested donation to attend the Creative Aging Symposium is $13. However, there is also an option for a free ticket, in order to prevent cost from being a barrier to participation.

Visit creativeagingsymposium.org to learn more about the event or to see video recordings from past events.

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Over the past year, Ruth’s Table and its sister program Creative Spark, a Front Porch Community Services program, have partnered with over 25 organizations to inspire creativity through the Image of Self project. The Image of Self exhibition features a selection of the resulting works, “highlighting the diversity of our elder communities. Whether abstract, symbolic, or intimately detailed, each artwork in the exhibition reveals the artist’s identity, individuality, and story, and aims to celebrate our authentic self as the hero in our own story,” the exhibition website explains.

“What is special about this project, and art in general, is that it has the power to bring together people and communities who would not get connected otherwise,” says Margarita Mukhsinova, associate director of Ruth’s Table. “Individuals who are not a part of the same immediate community or have diverse backgrounds or speak different languages, but we all come together as a group through a shared creative experience.”

Along with the Image of Self exhibit, other creative projects sponsored by Ruth’s Table and Creative Spark through the year have been implemented in a variety of different settings, including art kits delivery, online and phone-based workshops, onsite classes at Ruth’s Table, parallel programming implemented in partner communities, as well as teacher and staff training through Creative Spark. All projects draw on the theme of Creative Spark curriculum, which allows for a thematic commonality, while at the same time championing different forms of expressions across partners, from collage, to painting, to drawing, to free writing and poetry.

“Ruth’s Table and Creative Spark curriculum places access at the heart of its agenda,” says Margarita. “We work with teaching artists to make sure our curriculum includes multiple adaptations for the diverse needs of our communities, including dementia-friendly adaptations, suggestions on how these creative assignments can be infused in care relationships and done in groups, and more.”

The training “gave me new ideas of how to connect to the many personalities of our residents,” says Aliya, an Activities Coordinator. “I had a 100 year old who said she didn’t think highly of herself, but then we started talking about ‘words’ – she was a librarian – and her faith, and Aha! There she is!”

“Creative projects have helped me to feel that I belonged to something, making me feel secure,” says participant Margie Ramirez.

To learn more about upcoming programs, exhibitions, or resources from Ruth’s Table or Creative Spark, please visit their websites:

https://www.ruthstable.org/

https://covia.org/programs/creative-spark/

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“It started as a direction from the board and then-CEO Laurie Pratt to ‘go help people’. It was that broad,” she says. From those beginnings, over the last 20 years, the Community Services division has grown to offer five flagship programs with Tracy as the Vice President of the Community Services division, managing 25 employees. The division serves people nationwide, using innovative programs to address four areas of impact: food security, social connection, creative engagement, and stable housing.

Market Day, designed to offer a wide variety of fresh produce for a minimal cost to older adults living in food deserts, was Community Services’ first program. Originally started in 1977 at the church across from St. Paul’s Towers in Oakland, Market Day established a practice for Community Services, to test a program and then replicate it in other locations. A second location was opened in 2001, marking the beginnings of Community Services as a part of the organization. The program currently has 24 sites in Northern California, primarily located in senior centers and senior low income housing communities, with more to come at Front Porch communities and other sites in Southern California.

“I really want people to know that Market Day is much more than just produce and reducing food insecurity. It’s about creating purpose and providing an opportunity to build community,” says Sheila Womack, Senior Director of Community Services. This understanding of programs as a source of purpose and community pervades the work of the division.

Well Connected, which started in 2004, and its companion, Well Connected Español, are largely participant-led, inviting people from the United States (and sometimes beyond) to support one another through phone- and online-based groups, classes, and events. Social Call was founded in 2009 as an in-person friendly visiting program to connect older adults and volunteers for one-on-one weekly conversations in English or Spanish. In 2018, the program launched visits by phone or video, which expanded availability throughout the United States. Today, these virtual connection programs reach 3,900 individuals a year.

What sets these programs apart, says Tracy, is the importance of reciprocity – what participants give each other, and how they shape the programs. “Back in the day, we designed programs somewhat paternalistically, as in ‘we’ll fix this for you.’ Now we focus on engaging participants to help create their own solution.”

Katie Wade, Senior Director of Creative Engagement, agrees. As she reflects on working in a traditional service model, she says, “Honestly, it was a little depleting. But thinking about our work in Community Services as an interdependent model and what we all give and receive inside those connections is a holistic way of approaching life in general, as well as the work that we do. I think the end result for participants, volunteers, and community stakeholders is relational but also intentional.”

Amber Carroll, Senior Director of Connection Programs, emphasizes that Community Services programs “are not a resource for ‘them’ – people out there. We are collectively a resource for everyone – every resident, every staff person,” as well as the community at large.

In 2012, Community Services responded to the Bay Area housing crisis by creating and piloting Home Match in Marin County, a region with a high proportion of older adults and few affordable housing options. Leveraging existing housing stock, Home Match connects financially vulnerable or socially isolated older adults who have an extra room in their home with low-income individuals who are challenged to secure safe, affordable housing.  Home Match has grown to serve 5 Bay Area counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, and San Francisco, as well as serving as a resource for other areas seeking to respond creatively to their local housing needs.

“I want to make homesharing as understood and used as peer to peer car rides or Airbnb,” says Karen Coppock, Senior Director of Home Match. “There are 3.6 million unoccupied rooms in the top 100 housing markets in the United States, tons of opportunity to house people and stabilize the housing of others.”

Although for most of its programs, Community Services is focused on direct outreach, its newest program, Creative Spark, primarily trains and supports other service providers. “That’s an exciting route for us and it’s really in keeping with how we have been developing a national touch and influencing the field of aging services for several years,” says Katie. “Creative Spark is a next step in that continuum.”

One significant change Tracy has seen in her years is in the growth of the team’s sophistication and business savvy. “We have much more rigor about strategy and data collection,” she says. “We know how important storytelling is to be able to communicate about impact, but if it’s not backed up by data, then that’s a problem.” Over the past five years, “it’s been about focus, focus, focus. We had to let go of some programs and make some really hard choices to be able to use the resources we’re given in the most impactful, thoughtful, and responsible way.”

“I believe we can be leaders in the space of doing this work that demonstrates our social accountability,” says Tracy. “It’s something that residents, staff, family members, and board members can be proud of. I’m grateful for Front Porch’s commitment to dedicate time and financial resources to make an impact on people’s lives as well as social challenges. I think we embody the values of Front Porch and the work we do is another way to think about how to live out those values.”

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