Bridging Generations with Intergenerational Living Blending Senior Living with Foster Families

In today's heartwarming episode, we are joined by Natalie Gomez, the program director at New Life Village, a unique nonprofit in Tampa, Florida. New Life Village is an intergenerational living community.

Get ready to delve into the inspiring world of intergenerational living as Natalie shares how this special community supports families caring for children impacted by foster care and seniors' critical role as surrogate grandparents. We'll explore the mission of New Life Village, the benefits of affordable housing, and the myriad ways seniors and families enrich each other's lives. Listen as Natalie recounts touching stories of organic relationships forming within the village and discusses the importance of trauma-informed care.

If you're curious about the powerful impact of intergenerational communities and how they can shape a supportive, cohesive environment, this is an episode you won't want to miss!

Useful Links: Generations United

SeniorLivingGuide.com Podcast sponsored TransMedCare Long Distance Medical Transportation & GoGo Grandparent

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Transcript

Darleen Mahoney [00:00:00]:

And today we have Natalie Gomez. She serves as the program director at New Life Village, which is a nonprofit in Tampa, Florida. She oversees the strategy and implementation of New Life Village's Trauma Informed Wellness, Resilience and Character Development program. She strives to cultivate healthier outcomes for families caring for children impacted by foster care and village seniors. And that's what we're going to talk about today, is the village seniors, because it does take a village. Thank you for joining us today, Natalie.

Natalie Gomez [00:00:33]:

Yeah, happy to be here. Thanks for having me on.

Darleen Mahoney [00:00:35]:

Yeah. When your community or your village kind of came along and came across my desk, I thought, oh, my gosh, this is a fabulous concept that I hope will catch on in communities nationwide. So I definitely have to share it because, you know, sharing is caring for. Sure. So it's something completely different. And so I want you to tell me what New Life Village is and what their mission is and kind of really how it's set up, how it works with like all communities, with the foster kids, with the seniors, and kind of how that works. Cause it's so fantastic.

Natalie Gomez [00:01:15]:

Yeah. And I agree 100%. I wish there were more communities like this. There's definitely a need. So when this organization was originally started, it was started in 2012 by Sister Claire. And her vision was really to create a supportive community where people would be able, encouraged and equipped to adopt children impacted by foster care, specifically those older teenagers and those sibling groups that have a harder time finding permanency. And over the years, the mission has changed a little bit where really we are focused on creating an intergenerational community for families seeking to bring children impacted by foster care trauma to permanency. So you're going to find two groups of people really in this village.

Natalie Gomez [00:01:59]:

One is going to be our families caring for children impacted by foster care care. And they are either fostering, adopting, or they're relative caregivers. And then you have our seniors, which really we love to describe as our. Our secret sauce. They're. They're a huge piece of what makes this community special. And they really serve as like surrogate grandparents. You think A lot of our families are single parent households.

Natalie Gomez [00:02:24]:

And for one reason or another, especially with our relative caregivers, maybe those familial relationships aren't what we would hope. Right. So typically we have our grandparents, our cousins. We have different people who serve as that extra support. And a lot of our households don't have that. And so when they come here, they have these seniors who serve as that extra layer of support. Another person to love on the kids, to check in and see how they're doing, to provide a warm meal. Right.

Natalie Gomez [00:02:53]:

The way in which they provide support to every family is gonna look a little different. But really just having another person to wrap around you and support makes all the difference.

Darleen Mahoney [00:03:04]:

Yeah, I love that. Cause I know that sometimes seniors, they. One of the worst things about aging, sometimes that I think that people kind of forget about is the loneliness that seniors feel because their families move on, their children move on, they've moved out of state, their grandchildren are growing, and they really are just in a very lonely place. And at the end of the day that can be so impactful on their mental health, their physical health, their over well over, you know, their overall well being. And I think this really, if that's something that is a need that, you know, so many seniors are truly missing, it fills that need and really gives them purpose in a totally different way than most people would think.

Natalie Gomez [00:03:52]:

Yeah. And we try to say that NLV's purpose in one word is really permanency. And that's something special about an intentional community. Every single person who's here is living together, coming alongside each other for this shared vision, right? These shared core values and beliefs. And so really the seniors who join this community are, like you said, gaining this sense of purpose. They're contributing to something bigger than themselves, right? And we know that there are just countless benefits to seniors when they join an intentional community, right? It's this mutually beneficial relationship where really these seniors are able to achieve healthier outcomes. We talk about isolation, right? So in a community like this, they're getting that connection. You know, every single month we have a calendar filled with activities, right? Whether it's they're going to, to yoga together, whether they're helping with tutoring, they're participating in book club.

Natalie Gomez [00:04:52]:

We have book club starting in like 20 minutes. There's always something going on. But also it's a community where they're very much partners with us. So they sit at the table, have a voice and they say, what do I want from a community that I live in? What do I know that I can contribute? Because they bring immense value to the community and really getting to shape what it looks like. I feel like people don't typically get that kind of buy in where they live. And a lot of seniors, they often feel like they plateau, they hit a certain age and now they suddenly don't have as much to invest, which isn't true, right. They've, they've lived a life filled with mistakes, lessons learned you know, they're, they're rich with so much wisdom to share and, and so we are immensely blessed that we get to, to learn from them and they get to pour into us and pour into these kids and sometimes they're a little surprised that they, they learn a couple of things from our little ones too, because little ones are very observant.

Darleen Mahoney [00:05:56]:

Yeah, that. You know, the other thing you kind of mentioning that I'm thinking about is also the fact that some of these kids haven't been around older adults. And I think it's such an important factor to teach kids about seniors and about the elderly and the respect for that and the relationships you can build with that. Because I think if you don't have that, you kind of sometimes, especially the very elderly, they could be afraid of them or they may have some different types of concerns because they just haven't interacted with them on a daily basis. I know that when I was raising my kids they had a great respect for their grandparents and that's something that was really taught to them to be very respectful of the seniors and the elderlies in the community. And that's one thing that I've really seen the fruits of that labor with both my kids, how well they do. But I know that that's not always the case if you're not taught that or you're really around seniors and kind of really can relate to some of the things that they are going through. The complete generation gap of the TikToker versus someone that understands and can recognize a dial up phone and actually how it works.

Darleen Mahoney [00:07:10]:

So I think that that's something that is really great. I think it just, it just kind of, you know, takes that gap away. So I think that's fabulous.

Natalie Gomez [00:07:20]:

Yeah, well, and it's so interesting too because historically societies have always really valued what elders bring to the table. Right. And, and people have always seen them as, as a pillar of wisdom, you know, for all the unique times in histories maybe they've gotten to experience. And again, there are lessons learned, the specific trials and even common obstacles. Right. There are things that our kids are facing that are just part of life. And so now you have another person who can sit down with you and say, yeah, I've been there and this is some of the things that I went through and maybe you can take from it so you don't have to make the same mistakes I have. And I think it's so interesting right now as a society, we've kind of entered this space where people feel like they have to do things in silos.

Natalie Gomez [00:08:14]:

Right. And it's almost viewed as a negative thing to reach out to support versus back in the day, people very much did things as a community. Right. Like you noticed if your, your neighbor wasn't coming out as often or they were sick and you'd come over and bring them some soup. So really getting back to that community style of offering support to one's neighbors, to really wrapping around each other and knowing that we are meant to do life together, we are meant to have those connections. But you mentioned the respect of one's elders. I think that's important because while our seniors are here to provide support to the families, we definitely want to invest certain values and morals into our kids too so that they grow up to be fruitful members of society. And they're growing up to be people who extend love and grace and care to others, including.

Natalie Gomez [00:09:14]:

Including the most vulnerable. Right. We know our kids, they've experienced trauma, they're impacted by foster care. They are a very vulnerable population for a whole handful of reasons. But so are our seniors. Right. They're. They're a very vulnerable population that often kind of gets brushed off to the side with a lot of unmet needs.

Natalie Gomez [00:09:33]:

So if we can invest those values into our kids and they can see what it is to love and care for this population, hopefully we'll have little ripple. Ripple effects on society as a whole.

Darleen Mahoney [00:09:45]:

Yeah. Oh, absolutely. I absolutely love that. This is why when I was introduced to this community, I'm like, this is absolutely incredible. I love the entire concept of it. So one of the things I wanted to ask you about, so what are the benefit for benefits to a senior that might be interested in this type of community? Because there's multiple.

Natalie Gomez [00:10:04]:

Yeah. So a really practical one is affordable housing. Right. There is an affordable housing crisis right now. Nearly a third of households headed by seniors are considered cost burden. And by cost burden, I mean they pay more than 30% of their income for housing, right. So when they come to New Life Village, they are getting affordable housing. And so just to share some rental rates with you really quick to give you an idea.

Natalie Gomez [00:10:32]:

So our two bedroom right now that's 1,140 square feet is 1,157amonth. Our three bedroom is 13, 16amonth. So these are considered affordable housing rental rates. Very, very spacious. Am you have a garden, a playground, community pool, dog park. So they're getting affordable housing first and foremost. And we know that folks cannot focus on healing, they can't focus on all these other well being domains. If they don't have a safe place to live, if they don't have a roof over their head, right? No one's going to focus on financial literacy and eating healthy and extracurricular activities if, if they're homeless.

Natalie Gomez [00:11:22]:

So that's first and foremost, they're going to have affordable housing. But they also have access to so many well being resources. So I mentioned our programming earlier, our program calendar, it's filled with various activities, but not even just fun activities. There are trainings, there are support groups, various things that our families might need to prevent some of those common negative outcomes for seniors, for families impacted by trauma. But then we also have a resident support team that meets with every single household at least once a month really just to again build that rapport, to check in on how they're doing and see if there's any specific needs that they have. Because we know it's not a one size fits all, right? We know there are some general things that everybody needs, right? We all need healthy food, we all need stable housing. But someone might be going through a season of grief and they really need some, some therapy. Maybe they're struggling with making a budget, maybe they are dealing with chronic illness and they need resources around that.

Natalie Gomez [00:12:25]:

So we just want to really come alongside our seniors and make sure they have the resources and supports they need. But on top of that, there's community and connection, right? So we go back to folks not being meant to live in silos. They get immense community connection. My heart's always touched by just the constant stories I hear about things that happen at the village when we go home. Right. So we're here during the day, but the magic happens when the staff isn't here. And we have a village senior who recently shared there's a family that she supports and has been intentionally building relationship with. And she said some of the kiddos came over, they knew it was her birthday and they brought her a gift and a handwritten card and something like that.

Natalie Gomez [00:13:08]:

Knowing that you're making an impact in these kids lives, they see you as an extension of their family and they've come and care for you and they want to pour back into you. That's wonderful. The power of feeling seen, feeling loved, knowing that someone cares about you, I think it just, it makes such a difference. And it's funny, you think about health outcomes too. Why are seniors who are constantly around children seemingly so much more energized, so much more nimble, right? So I think it has immense effects on their health outcomes in that way too. Not being surrounded by people who are not moving around as much, but they're constantly around toddlers and teenagers and folks who got them up doing the electric slide and playing bingo. Right. They're moving around.

Natalie Gomez [00:14:01]:

So I think there are immense benefits to just overall healthier outcomes for our seniors.

Darleen Mahoney [00:14:07]:

Yeah, 100%. You know that when you're around a lot of activities, even if you're, like, at a place where no one's dancing, but there's. And then you're just sitting there, you know, you're doing your little tapping foot. Yeah, tapping your foot, shaking your head, doing the chair dance, and somebody gets up, and then more people get up, and then all of a sudden you are up and dancing, and you are feeding off the energy of other people. And honestly, the energy of children. I wish I could suck up it, suck some of it away, because I would love to have it. I always say, oh, it's not fair. You have so much energy, but you have to know that has to be contagious.

Darleen Mahoney [00:14:43]:

And then, honestly, watching kids and discovering new things and learning new things, that is really something that will put. Will bring joy to so many older people. I know it brings joy to me just to watch, but I feel like seniors in general, they really get a lot out of that because they're really watching the younger generation and kind of seeing what's happening with them and being able to connect that way. So you're absolutely right. I love it. So the other thing I wanted to ask. So how does it, you know, enriching the lives of the families and you. So it's not just little kids, so there's actually teenagers and things like that as well?

Natalie Gomez [00:15:21]:

Yes. So our program, we have families who are fostering, adopting relative caregivers, but the children that they're caring for range from birth all the way through 21. So we have quite, quite a spectrum of age ranges in the village. It's very much an intergenerational community. And so the seniors who live here, they all have a very different skill sets, passions, interests. And so they really get an opportunity to pour into all these different age groups in various ways. And so, again, the support that they're providing is going to look so different between seniors. We have some seniors who are very passionate about working with teenagers.

Natalie Gomez [00:16:03]:

We have others who love music, and so they're at every music lesson on our Saturdays and supporting them in their performances. We have seniors who were teachers previously, and so it's very important for them to be plugged into our tutoring so that that support really looks so different. So sometimes it's one on one with our kiddos, sometimes it's very much with our caregivers because our seniors, a lot of them have children of their own and so they can come from it from a lens of, you know, I've been where you are. A lot of them have even come from backgrounds where they were previously low income. They've been impacted by foster care. And so just being able to really come alongside them again and say, you know, I know where you're coming from. From a, to a degree, we know that everyone's experiences are never going to be exactly the same. But sometimes it's helpful just to have someone to listen and who can understand and who's relatable.

Natalie Gomez [00:16:59]:

And our seniors provide that. We had a meal train that we recently started for a family and one of our seniors, she's so cute, she called me, she's like, so I've been providing warm meals for them. And she just started explaining the dynamic of the relationship she had naturally and organically formed with this family. Checking in on the kids after school, providing snacks, making warm meals. And it's, it had become part of her routine. When she made meals for herself, she would always make extra for them. And she's like, do I need to formally sign up on a list? I was like, oh my gosh, no. What you're doing is exactly what we hope families are doing, right? Those organic, natural relationships.

Natalie Gomez [00:17:40]:

And just intuitively, as you're doing things for yourself, thinking, oh, maybe I can help this neighbor in this other way. Right? So it was just so encouraging to know that these organic relationships were already taking place and people were already providing support, you know, taking it upon themselves to think, how can I serve this family in a practical way? Yeah, but, yeah, and then just creating a space that is safe and loving and trauma informed too. So we often have seniors who, they know our mission, they want to serve, but maybe they've never worked with a community who's been impacted by trauma before. And so that's really important to us is always providing trainings around trauma so that we're really giving our seniors, caregivers, staff, program partners the tools to step into these spaces where they have that trauma informed lens because it really is, it's going to show up in the behaviors and some of those interactions. And if we don't have the right tools, we're not going to be able to provide support in the way we really want to. So our senior, they definitely have a love for learning. So I would say Seniors who are interested in this community, in addition to having a heart for the mission and a heart for service, just a desire to be a lifelong learner. Because it's really.

Natalie Gomez [00:19:03]:

We're all lifelong learners here. We've never arrived. We're always hit with curveballs of a new challenge that a family's working through or a new behavior that a. A kid is developed and is showing up with in some of our activities. And so we're always having to learn how can we best love and support one another. So lifelong learners, definitely we need here.

Darleen Mahoney [00:19:29]:

That really has to be a desire and a senior that would decide to move into this type of community. It's not something that you're doing it based on just a few things. You really want to. You really need to have a love for community, young for love, for those that have been through, as you mentioned, trauma and want to be there as a support. But I love the fact that you train them because, I mean, that is something that can be. I mean, if you haven't been around it, I know that sometimes children that have some behavioral issues and those things like that, it can be something that you have to navigate and you have to do it correctly.

Natalie Gomez [00:20:07]:

Yes. And we ourselves, I mean, we do not by any means know everything. And so the team is always going to training as well, because we, we all just have to have that attitude of always learning because we don't know everything. And we're all just trying to do the best we can together as a collective. But the important thing is that we are always as a community, reminding ourselves and each other of the why. Why are we here? Right. And it's the mission, it's permanency for these kids, healthier outcomes for all of us as a collective, for the families, for the seniors, and working towards that. Because we all have to, we all have to be buying into the mission.

Natalie Gomez [00:20:50]:

Right. If we're all not showing up and invested, it doesn't work. It crumbles. Because the folks who actually live in this community, they're what make it amazing. They're what make. It's not possible without them.

Darleen Mahoney [00:21:05]:

Right. They are. They are the village.

Natalie Gomez [00:21:07]:

Yes, they are the village.

Darleen Mahoney [00:21:10]:

So quick question. What age is considered a senior? Someone that would decide to do this. What age is like the minimum.

Natalie Gomez [00:21:20]:

It's crazy to say this, but it's 55, which. There are people who are way over 55, have more energy than I ever will, but 55 is considered a senior.

Darleen Mahoney [00:21:33]:

Yeah.

Natalie Gomez [00:21:34]:

Yeah.

Darleen Mahoney [00:21:34]:

So I know a lot of times it's 55 to 62 is what starts to. In senior. In the senior housing industry is considered an independent cell. It's shifted a little bit. So I thought I'd ask.

Natalie Gomez [00:21:45]:

So any of our 55 and up is considered a senior. But another thing is that they live independently. So we always like to make sure our seniors know that we are not set up for assisted living. So any seniors who are joining our community would have to be able to live independently.

Darleen Mahoney [00:22:06]:

Yeah, no, absolutely. That makes complete sense. So one of the things that you mentioned is the affordable housing. Because we are having an affordable housing crisis, especially for seniors, because sometimes those folks, they have worked their entire lives, but they've really lived paycheck to paycheck, so they haven't been able to save. So trying to live off of your Social Security or something like that, when you get to that point, that can be really scary. So I think that this is such a great solution for some of those folks. But also one of the things that you had mentioned as far as the foster care crisis. So tell me a little bit about how that community intervention works with the foster care crisis.

Darleen Mahoney [00:22:57]:

As seniors, as relative caregivers, do they jump in sometimes and take care of the kiddos while their parents or foster parents are. Or caregivers, I should say, maybe go out or are working or things like that? Are those opportunities that they can take advantage of?

Natalie Gomez [00:23:14]:

Yeah, absolutely. So that's one of the ways that some of our seniors will provide support to families. We will never encourage seniors to do something they don't feel comfortable with. I say that because we do have seniors who have very various interests, various skill sets. And so some of them, they love babies. They're like, give me all the babies. I'll smother them in love. Like, that's their.

Natalie Gomez [00:23:38]:

Their niche, so to speak. And there are others that are very much like, I would not feel safe caring for a baby because I would be worried that I'd fall. And so we never want to encourage them to do something they don't feel comfortable doing. But we've seen various seniors provide support in that way via childcare. Yeah.

Darleen Mahoney [00:23:58]:

All right. So it's an optional thing, but it's not something that. It's just. It's an organic relationship you would build. Is that basically.

Natalie Gomez [00:24:05]:

Yes. Yes. Okay. And it's. And it's awesome because we find that a good portion of our families are relative caregivers, where we have grandparents raising their grandbabies. And so there's been seasons where we have folks join our community as seniors because they Love our mission. And unexpectedly our mission ends up being very much their personal story. And they have grandchildren who are placed in their home.

Natalie Gomez [00:24:28]:

And now suddenly they've gone from being the senior supporting families to being a family in need of that wraparound support. And so we have a little bit of everything, but everyone steps in and loves on each other and provides support. We have seniors providing support to families, families providing support to, to seniors. You know, again, it, it truly, it just takes a village.

Darleen Mahoney [00:24:48]:

Yeah. Well, let's wrap this up a little bit by talking about just in general, intergenerational communities. I know that intergenerational communities are starting to grow in popularity, but they don't have that same look as new life villages. Sometimes it's, you know, single family homes that will have a mother in law suite maybe in the back or attached or something like that. And I know that some communities, like new construction communities are starting to create some of these communities. And I think that that's amazing too. That's such a great option if you want to age in place, but be super close to family. So tell us a little bit more about intergenerational communities in general.

Darleen Mahoney [00:25:26]:

And while this, your community, your beautiful community is located in beautiful Tampa, Florida, I'm a Floridian, so I can say that. Do you know if other communities similar to yours are located throughout the U.S. yes.

Natalie Gomez [00:25:40]:

So there are several other organizations similar to ours serving different populations. Generations United is a really great resource actually for folks looking to learn more about these communities. There's one located in Oregon. There is also a community, another one in Florida actually, specifically for those who are fostering. But generations united.org is going to be a great resource because to your point, there are a lot of intergenerational communities starting to pop up, but serving different populations. So they might have veterans housed with people who are trauma informed. They might have able bodied with disabled to provide support to one another. I've seen aged out youth with anchor families so that they're getting that support in adulthood.

Natalie Gomez [00:26:31]:

So there's a huge need. You're seeing people really just craving for that community and support from others. And I'm hoping to see more communities like this popping up. We're the only community in Florida serving this specific population though. But I'd love to see more people join in.

Darleen Mahoney [00:26:49]:

No, I wanted to do this podcast because I hope it encourages others to start similar communities within their community. Because it does. It takes a village and it's not just a village raising a child, it's a village as a whole. Community. We really have to love and respect every single person that's living within our communities. So that's so important, for sure. And we are actually going to include that link in the description and copy of the podcast. So no matter where you're listening to this podcast, you can connect with Generations United.

Darleen Mahoney [00:27:22]:

And I'm also going to include the website for New Life Village, so you can really go in and check it out. And I will tell you, I've been there to the website and you see the smiling faces of some of the seniors that are enjoying. They enjoy their time together. I'm sure they get together, maybe do some bingo or some Monko or some of that. So, you know, all the things that would be fun, for sure. So, you know, I do think it is good to take a look at it and you can kind of have, have a bird's eye view into life at New Life Village. So before we totally wrap it up, is there anything you wanted to add before we close out this podcast?

Natalie Gomez [00:28:04]:

I hope if there's any seniors out there who feel like this is a community, that would be a benefit for them, feel encouraged to reach out. You know, let's get a tour scheduled. Or if maybe you don't live in Florida, check out some communities that are available via Generations United. You know, these communities are just so, so impactful. So feel free to reach out to learn more.

Darleen Mahoney [00:28:28]:

Yeah, I appreciate that. Thank you so much for joining us today, Natalie. This was such an incredible podcast. I love this so much. Just makes my heart happy, especially during the holidays, you know, which is, you know, the time of year where it's, it's giving and things like that. So I do appreciate that. If you enjoyed this podcast, we are available anywhere you listen to podcasts such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Good Pods. We are now available available on BabyBoomer.org thank you for listening.