Recently while filling out some paperwork about this first phase of development at Hope & A Future, I was struck by how much we have already accomplished. We are still working to make the next phase a reality, yet we have already helped the generations by bringing them together. Many residents and their loved ones have been helped. Staff and their families and many community members have been part of our journey. And some of them have been helped along the way too. Hope & A Future has been built by the community. We received pro bono help from many wonderful mentors. ...
October 1st the Madison the State Journal published an article titled, “Aging Population Poses Test”. The article pointed out that Wisconsinites who are 75 and older will increase by 75% in the next two decades and we are not prepared to care for them with traditional assisted living or nursing home beds. They mentioned staffing challenges. In fact the long term care workforce shortage is actually a crisis causing the closing of many care settings. Research shows most Americans fear institutionalization more than death–loneliness, lack of purpose and the caregiver workforce crisis are major concerns. Yet, there is hope!...
During my undergraduate studies, I was introduced to the theories that represent the foundation of understanding of human development and human relations. While they were all of interest in some way, I always connect the strongest with the work of Uri Bronfenbrenner and his Ecological Systems theory because it highlights the reciprocal relationships that exist to form and influence our human existence. It is the theory that explains why community is influential, impactful and necessary for healthy development. The theory is presented as a series of concentric circles indicating varying levels of interaction and the reciprocal relationships that we have...
Hope & A Future is special in many ways. To begin with, you drive down Mineral Point Road–bustling with activity and business, take a turn onto South High Point Road and pass the Cinema, Princeton Club and multiple turns toward shopping until suddenly the 4 lane road goes to three lanes and on one side is a field and on the other side is Hope & A Future’s tree lined driveway. As you drive in, you are transported to another time and place. The core of the farmhouse was built in the 1870’s and there is still a barn...
At Hope & A Future we are pioneering a transformative model that sets the standard for healthy communities by redefining aging and family support. Through fostering deep social connections and purposeful roles among children and seniors, we combat the devastation of loneliness and ensure every resident thrives–from childhood to memory care. Our model was developed with the awareness that seniors are the fastest growing segment of the population and that of the (11+ million) children growing up in poverty, forty percent will see homelessness and hunger. According to an article published by Child Poverty – Children’s Defense Fund 1 in...
Welcome to June! It is beautiful! Blooming Peonies, Lupine, climbing roses and Iris along with wild phlox and daisies are in our yard. Such a delight! There has been more severe weather than usual and we have had to take cover in our “safe space”. We are grateful we had only minimal wind damage. Our hearts are with those who have had severe storm damage and been without electricity–all over the country and world. Today, I want to reflect on a new topic for me. In recent months people have been telling me I should learn more about Blue Zones–because...
There are some beautiful things about the brain that is living with dementia. One of them is the sense of now that is developed. It is different from the sense of now experienced by people without dementia. For some people with dementia, now does not come in the middle of before and after. It includes before and after. This concept can be hard for those of us without dementia to grab ahold of. But it is a nice idea to try to imagine. Here is an example. A number of people have lived at Hope & A Future with...
Well, I hope April snow showers bring May flowers! I started writing this while looking out the window at heavy snowfall! And I just came back from making a snowman with 3 year old Leon. Strange start to April! But we are doing our best to enjoy it. We had a lot of fun last month. We had a couple of new events here. One was a Sea Shanty sing with Andreas Transo. He brought song books and started each song by teaching us the chorus. He would sing the verses and we all joined in on the chorus. It...
I am sitting on a beach watching waves today. Their continuous rhythm reminds me of the hearts within our chests. Beating continuously, not always at the same pace but, always beating. Sometimes slow and steady and sometimes with greater force and speed. While I sit watching, I am trying to come to terms with a painful fact. A few days ago, a dear friend’s heart suddenly stopped. In my mind’s eye, I can see his smile. I can hear him telling me a story and laughing with tears in his eyes. My belief is that although his body is...
I understand the groundhog did not see his shadow this year so we can hope for an early spring! That will be nice. Although, it feels like we only had about a week of winter in Wisconsin. In two days we had 21 inches of snow followed by a short blast of below zero weather. Before and after that it felt like spring was already trying to appear. The extremes in weather made the month feel like quite an adventure. January was an adventure in other ways too. On January 1st we invited people interested in having a conversation about...
I am watching a beautiful heavy snowfall as I type. And my heart is full from Holiday parties with family and friends and notes from those far away. The sparkle of Christmas decor still surrounds me and, by golly it will for awhile! At least until the daylight hours last a little longer. I need the help of Christmas lights to get through this dark season! Despite the long dark hours, I am excited about 2024! 2023 was a big year for us at Hope & A Future and we are grateful! We currently have an absolutely wonderful staff. Our...
For those of us in Holiday celebration mode, it is on! This has always been a loved time of year for me. I am deeply steeped in family traditions that bring me great joy when celebrated with loved ones. Over the years, time seems to have shortened and some of these traditions slipped off my calendar. But, with determination to not miss the joys experiencing the wonder of Christmas with my 3 year old grandson, I am determined to find the time to bring some of these traditions back! Chief among them is planning Christmas parties with friends and...
I had the good pleasure of attending Madison NonProfit Day this past October 31st. An event I highly recommend. I am grateful to Alnisa Allgood for her work in getting this day and the Social Good Accelerator program going. Both have given a community to those of us in the trenches of this often lonely work. The culture of the Madison NonProfit Day and the Social Good Accelerator program is one of learning together and encouraging each other. It is nothing short of encouraging and amazing. Both have been immensely helpful to me and many others. So thank you...
With Autumn upon us Hope & A Future is in a season of change. In tune with the eternal clock, we have said good-bye to loved ones. We are getting to know people joining our family of friends. And Fall vegetables are coming in from the garden as leaves turn color and begin to fall. On August 20th, with the help of Edgewood High School volunteers we picked two and a half wheelbarrows full of sauce tomatoes and in the days following we cooked up huge batches of spaghetti sauce for our first garden to table fundraising dinner. On...
This week we said goodbye to Bea Bretl. She was 97 and had seen a lot of life. One of her daughters, Monica Rehberg, had the foresight to talk Bea into writing her life story to share with family. This was done 20 years ago. And what a treasure her family now has. Bea raised a wonderful big family. When she moved in, she had 8 children, 18 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren. I understand there are now more on the way! Every family member we met was a delight. I remember telling Bea that I enjoyed meeting every...
One late summer day in 2018 I saw a man walk into our backyard. It looked as if he were looking for someone. I went to the back door and asked if I could help him. He explained that he had heard about Hope & A Future and he wanted to talk with someone about the care we provide. He told me that he had a wife with early onset dementia that he no longer felt comfortable leaving alone at home. He felt it was time to look into finding a care facility for her. Hope & A Future...
I am so excited to share our big news with you! With rockets bursting in air, we are celebrating progress with our expansion project! On June 12th the Madison Planning Commission unanimously recommended our project to the Madison Common Council and on June 20th, the Madison Common Council unanimously approved our zoning and conditional use permits. We are moving forward! The next step keeps Hope & A Future in a genuine position of interdependence with the community. From the beginning everyone working on this project knew it would take a diverse community of talent and resources to make the first...
I hope you have all enjoyed a beautiful memorial day weekend and are now enjoying June. I was able to be off this memorial day and spent some time visiting family graves. So many memories popped up–of times when loved ones were still with us and I was a child. I also enjoyed some relaxed time around a campfire with my family, including our grandson Leon. We had a beautiful clear night for roasting marshmallows and he enjoyed holding his own stick. First to completely burn a marshmallow and then held it so far away that it did not...
Garden work started with an energetic group of 8th graders from Light House School. They ended their time here with a great song and dance of encouragement for us on our deck. We were blessed with perfect weather the day they came. Plans for a rummage sale during our monthly volunteer gardening hours (second Saturday of the month from 9am-11am) are in the works. And planning for musical events has started with generous musicians offering to play for tips. We are always busy in the house, but I thought it might be interesting for you to hear about some of...
If you live in Madison Wisconsin you may need to be told this to know it. There are still snow piles in the shade and the grass is only starting to turn green. It takes some faith to believe that flowers, chartreuse leaf buds and warm weather are on their way. If you have been around for a few decades of spring in Wisconsin, you can look to your past experience to encourage yourself. You may remember previous sinking feelings that this will indeed be the first year that it will be winter for the whole 12 months of...
March is living up to its reputation of being a month of turbulent weather for Wisconsin–as we transition from winter to spring. It seems there is always some degree of turbulence with change. Change can be anticipated with excitement, worked for and planned for, or be sudden and unplanned. In either scenario it can still be met with turbulence. Even human development includes turbulence–the terrible twos and adolescence are famous for it! Moving forward with any change has elements of the unknown to navigate and this is part of life. Life is not stagnant, change is a constant and...
Bill Perkins. For me that name is a complete sentence. Bill was my curmudgeon mentor, my friend and my encourager–all at once. He loved his family first and chose a career that focused on helping everyone have a decent home. He was a man of outstanding intelligence with genuine motives. His take on humanity was often painfully perceptive. Although he was usually my teacher, we did spar on a few points. And I am smiling as I remember some of those conversations. I will share a little toward the end of this blog. I have written two blogs that featured...
Happy January! It has certainly been a white Christmas! My life is blessed with beautiful Christmas memories and it is always hard for me to “put Christmas away!” Often, I keep a Christmas decoration in my room because it makes my heart feel warm and bright all year long! In the theme of not letting go of the season, I would like to share the part of the Christmas Story that I wish I could experience. It is when the angels come to the shepherds who were living in the fields keeping watch over their sheep. If you have ever...
There is so much to be thankful for! On November 5th we celebrated our 10th anniversary at Hope & A Future. Of the guests that braved the cold to celebrate with us, there were the children of parents who spent their last years here and some of the people who have given their time and talents to help make Hope & A Future what it is. Musicians, volunteers and donors celebrated with us! Relationships are the heart of Hope & A Future and we had so much fun celebrating together. Among the people celebrating were two people that received a logo...
There is a great deal of talk about the loneliness epidemic. Since the pandemic more people have experienced loneliness. So, what is it? Loneliness is characterized by the depressing feeling of being lonesome and alone. For some people this feeling is combined with the reality that they do not have a companion that really knows them or that they know well. A person can be surrounded by people, but feel invisible and alone. Worse yet, they may not know anyone well enough to call if they need help. This awareness can lead to a sense of isolation even...
60% of Americans currently report experiencing painful loneliness. Hope & A Future’s intergenerational approach to living offers a solution. We know that loneliness comes at great cost to society. Loneliness negatively affects mental and physical health in young and old. Lonely children do not learn to their capacity and when left unchecked loneliness affects the neurologic development of children in ways that lead to poor impulse control and behavior problems. Loneliness is also often a driver with addiction behaviors. Gangs and human traffickers target lonely young people. Lonely retirees are known to experience accelerated mental and physical decline. In...
Hard work continues as we work to move forward with expansion plans! Imagination and passion keep us going! I find myself nearly homesick for TIIN living in the complete model! Community minded people coming together with the intention of getting to know each other in a real way absolutely thrills me. Enjoying other’s thoughts and talents is always fun and enlightening. Problem solving with mixed age groups is an amazing experience that I already enjoy in our Adult Family Home. I find that the thought of having even more neighbors willing to give time each week to help each other...
This has been a busy month at Hope & A Future. We are so happy to have volunteers joining us again! Flowers are blooming, trees are lush and we are eating out of the garden. Summer is such a wonder–especially when you get to enjoy it with a child! (Volunteer groups pictured below.) I have also been in many meetings as we work on navigating the path forward for our expansion. There is excitement in the air! The many people working on this are aware that our success will pave the way for replication of future intergenerational neighborhoods. This is...
Our gardens are almost completely planted and volunteer groups have transformed our property into a destination of beauty and peace. Thank you!!! Staff, residents and volunteers are already enjoying the blooms, rhubarb, herbs and pool! And in May our Board of Directors had an outdoor in person gathering and meal that felt like a holiday celebration–after our prolonged pandemic precautions! We are so happy to be able to welcome more of our extended Family Of Friends back! Although we are still navigating our new normal in the house, we have had a few more visitors inside too. Covid has...
I was impressed that although April felt like a Wisconsin November, May flowers pushed through victoriously! We were still having nights with temperatures below freezing when the first spring flowers blossomed. I was so amazed that when I saw them in our yard, I stopped to tell them that I admired their resilience and beauty in this trying spring. (Pictured below: April vs. May flowers outside our front door at Hope & A Future.) The last couple of years have been especially challenging for most, if not all of us. As a nurse, I have spent a lot of...
Joyce Clapp’s husband had come to live at Hope & A Future toward the end of his life. He had lived in another facility for sometime while on our waiting list. He looked forward to moving here in large part because of his beloved friend Brian. Brian offers spiritual support through Agrace Hospice. Brian had told him that he knew people at Hope & A Future and they were good musicians and nice people. Edward Charles Clapp was a kind and grateful man. After being with us for a short time he asked me if there was a room...
Happy February! I have always enjoyed this month. My family has Valentine traditions we still enjoy–although not always exactly on Valentine’s day. Inspired by the movie, Lady and the Tramp, we make a homemade spaghetti dinner that we all look forward to! And we exchange Valentine gifts. Traditions have a way of building bonds between families and communities. If we were not still dealing with Covid we would welcome you to a Friday night party, sharing spaghetti and music. Guests would bring their favorite desserts and foods to share. Because of Covid, we will be a much smaller group–but eating spaghetti...
I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving. We did! Due to continued Covid restrictions, we were a small group again this year. But we did have all of the live-in staff, residents and a couple of vaccinated family members with us! Together we made a beautiful feast, gave thanks and enjoyed ourselves! We also enjoyed the leftovers! Leftovers are especially fun to me, because they can be enjoyed without all of the work, hustle and bustle of getting a feast on the table! Just fun traditional and festive foods! We have welcomed new staff to our Family of Friends–one is...
So much is going on that I sometimes feel like I am in a sort of tornado swirl! We are grateful for the skills of new staff members. Cheryl and Amy have joined us and are doing great as they get to know all of us and how we work here. Karen’s last day will be November 12th and it is hard to imagine not having her here as part of our everyday. Change is always hard, but it also causes us to grow. With that knowledge, please pray for us! Changing needs with those we care for brought...
As Autumn unfolds so do the plans for change at Hope & A Future! Work on our planned expansion is moving forward. Our goal is to create a replicable model–so we are carefully checking regulations and praying to get this right the first time through! Planning for this is complicated but it is making good progress! At the same time we are planning for Karen’s departure. Karen is such a big part of Hope & A Future that it is hard to think about our Family Of Friends without her! But she will be leaving mid November–so we must...
“If we continue to see the Baby Boomers as a problem, we will miss the potential resource that they are!” -Karin Krause Happy September! Change is certainly in the air! The sound of locusts and crickets fill the cool night air–already! And the Hope & A Future household will once again see changes this fall! Sue and Sam will be moving forward with their goals after spending 2 years with us and Karen will be moving to MI to be near her daughter and grandchildren after working side by side with us for 20 years of this journey! We will...
I pray you are enjoying the richness of summer! Everything is growing–plants, vegetables, fruits, flowers and of course weeds. We are so grateful for the young people that come to help pull weeds! Their quick movement has me in a sense of wonder–when did I stop moving like that? The change snuck up on me! Now, it is fun to have all of that young energy with us! I am writing on the deck of our place “up north”–pondering all that has been going on. Earlier I was out in the sun on our paddle boat with my sister-in-law. Now,...
Hi everyone! Paula Reif here with some exciting news. May 27, 2021, we received notice that out of 112 applicants, we are one of twenty Madison area organizations chosen to receive a Forward Community Investments Nonprofit Capacity Building grant! Many thanks to FCI for their support of our vision.Some of you may have heard my name through the years. I first heard Karin’s vision for an intergenerational neighborhood at our friends’ wedding reception. Hearing her passion for the vision inspired me to explore intergenerational connections more deeply because my passion is to support, serve, and inspire young families to...
Happy May 2021! Trees and flowers are blooming and the world smells and looks like a fairy land! In Greek and Latin, the word May comes from Maia meaning “mother, nurse, midwife.” Perhaps that is why May is the month mothers and nurses are honored! The definition of the word expresses both possibilities and permission; as in “that may happen, if…” and “yes you may.” This May, Hope & A Future is able to announce that our expansion may move forward! Our pioneering intergenerational project is now in compliance with the complicated Federal, State and County ordinances that have stopped...
Dear Friends, I hope you have had time to enjoy our recent warm sunny days! We have made a point of it! My husband (Rick) and I were hiking in a local park last weekend and enjoying the sun on our faces, and knees, on a bench along the path. From our perch on the side of the hill we could see little children running circles around their parents and grandparents. Some ran up and down the path as their adults plodded along slow and steady. We laughed at the intergenerational scene. I reflected that the older I get, the...
Each month I feel like we are closer, but we are not quite to the point that we can jump off the starting block with our expansion. But it does feel like we are almost ready to approach the starting block!! In February we had a meeting with some people from Dane County that work with regulations pertinent to Hope & A Future’s ability to move our Therapeutic Interactive Intergenerational Neighborhood (TIIN) forward. We are waiting to hear what they find. Our proposed expansion will add: additional intergenerational common spaces, a stage, day care for children and adults, an after...
Immunizations are coming to Hope & A Future this month! We feel the light at the end of the Pandemic tunnel is near. We are still on the journey, but we are making progress! Likewise, Hope & A Future passed another hurdle in January. We continue work to move the expansion forward. We have made real progress, but we still have a couple of hurdles to go. Yet, we hope the next leg of the journey will not be a long one and we dream of building by the end of 2021 or early 2022. We are getting closer, but...
Happy New Year!!! I love this photo! My first thought on seeing it was, “That poor tree! I can relate. That is what it feels like trying to build the first Therapeutic, Interactive, Intergenerational, Neighborhood (TIIN)!” The passion to do it never let up, but the roadblocks just kept coming! Yet, suddenly we see the light! I am in my office typing this blog with only one hand as my grandson sleeps cradled in my other arm. Until now, I had no idea I could type with one hand! Many of us have had to stretch into new realms on...
On November 13th the Wall Street Journal published; How Covid-19 will change aging and retirement By Anne Tergesen. It is well worth reading. The article quotes Marc Freedman, president of Encore.org, a nonprofit working to bridge generational divides. Marc states; Age segregation “has not prepared us well for living longer lives” . . . With relatively little day-to-day contact between younger generations and elders, “each life stage we move into we are utterly unprepared for.” Age segregation, he says, encourages a view that an aging population is “a problem to be solved” rather than a “repository of social, intellectual...
It is a beautiful day in the neighborhood today! The sun is shining, Dahlia’s are blooming and the leaves are beautiful! As if that were not enough, we have a baby on our team! Those of you that follow us on Facebook, already know that Ruthie, our Art & Activity Therapist, Social Media Woman, chief lunch cook is also Mom to Leon! And I am thrilled to be Leon’s Grandma! Our intergenerational family of friends work model now includes baby Leon! And what joy he brings to all of us! There is nothing like locking eyes with a baby...
September 2020 in brief. The COVID pandemic continues. Schools and Universities are struggling to figure out how to educate students. Parents and communities are working to figure out how to care for children. The deep wounds of racial inequities have come to the surface across the country. Individuals miss social interaction. The political climate is polarized. One night last week, as we prepared the evening meal for the staff and residents, a few of us shared that we had been upset by racial and political issues we were faced with over the course of the day. The culture of our...
Hello Everyone, Rick and I are back from our grandbaby vacation! And it was pure heaven! Mom and baby are doing great! If all continues to go well, Ruthie (the Mom) will start back part time mid August with Leon(the Grandson) in tow! They have made a couple of visits here and those of you on facebook may have seen the pictures already. The need for social distancing has affected all of our lives in a big way. At Hope & A Future, we have many blessings, yet we cannot go on summer outings nor can we...
By Karin Krause Nearly 50% of Americans now report troubling feelings of loneliness. 42% of Millenial women are more afraid of loneliness than a Cancer diagnosis. Very young children describe feeling sad, alone and fearful. And, unfortunately, loneliness is not removed by being physically near people. Early in my nursing career I observed older adults crowded together in a nursing home–with their heads hanging low and their eyes closed. And I wondered, what is needed for people to create friendship? My conclusion is that we create friendships around the work of life or when we are involved with something we enjoy...
Tips on staying happy and busy during quarantine from our Activity Director, Ruthie McQuinn Pictured left: Ruthie with one of our 13 chickens; Pictured right: Residents video chatting with family This is a time unlike any of us have ever experienced. With new experiences comes new challenges. Some of the main challenges many of us are facing include staying connected to friends and family, financial stress, decline in physical and mental health, and downright boredom. As the activity director and art therapist at Hope & A Future, this is a very unique opportunity for me to...
Karin’s Reflection In the December 2019/January 2020 edition of AARP there is an article titled, “The Loneliness Epidemic New Science, New Hope”. At Hope & A Future, our work on TIIN development focuses on creating a framework that empowers all neighbors to enjoy the purpose and belonging that accompanies a valued role. The AARP article focuses on the biological and behavioral effects of loneliness and the feeling itself. They suggest that perhaps the feeling is an alert–that something is wrong and that a person needs to get back...
Karin’s Reflection In December we said good-bye to our beloved Rosemarie. She moved in with us 5 years ago with a fairly complicated medical history–including Parkinson’s Disease, Spinal Stenosis, Dementia, Depression and a history of frequent falls. After reviewing her medication regime, starting an exercise plan and initiating adapted versions of activities she had formerly enjoyed, she began to feel better, do more for herself and have fun! At a three month visit to her neurologist, she looked so improved that he asked, “Rosemarie, you look wonderful! What facility do you live in?” She looked at him...
Ruthie’s Reflection Our first Crossroads Conversation was full of pleasant surprises. When Barbara McKinney was pulled away at the last minute, she sent Sheri Carter, District 14 Alder in her stead. The whole afternoon felt divinely appointed. If you’re a Wisconsonite, you know that October weather in Madison is completely unpredictable. On Sunday, October 20th, out of the blue came a beautiful, warm, sunny day for our first ever Crossroads Conversation. To our dismay, we learned shortly before the conversation was to take place that our special guest, Barbara McKinney was unable to make it. There was a...
The calendar says it is still summer and I am trying to go with that thought! But school has started and our summer interns (much to our sorrow) have left until we meet again! Dante from CEO’s of Tomorrow (a fabulous organization!) and Audrianna from North Western University have left their impact on our hearts and minds. Also, our long time staff person Grant has moved on to a new phase in life which includes moving to a new residence (a work still in progress) so we are feeling changes in our family of friends as well as the...
Karin’s Reflection One day this month, I sat in a clinic waiting room reading a magazine while waiting for a Hope & A Future resident who was undergoing a test. After a short time, a clinic staff person approached me and asked, “Did you come with . . .” she paused and I assumed she was running privacy rules through her head. Should she say the patient’s name out loud in the waiting room. I smiled and said, “Yes, I came with Rosemarie.” She smiled and said, “She wants you in the room when the results and...
Happy July! I am writing this on the 4th after leaving our festive lunch table–brats, red, white and blue decor and desserts topped off with singing patriotic songs to live violin, harmonica, guitar and banjo accompaniment! Singing, smiles, laughs and jokes made it memorable! Tonight we will see who is awake after dark to watch a few fireworks from the porch. Some of you will be happy to know that due to a donation from the beloved Barnes family, we have a new pool liner and we are filling the pool now! A few weeks back, Paulal Reif...
We are excited to report that we had an encouraging update meeting with the City of Madison about our development plans for the next steps in our Therapeutic Interactive Intergenerational Neighborhood (TIIN). Much thanks to retired lawyer Tim Radelet, and Ethan Schwenker and Doug Buck of Quarles & Brady, LLP, we are making progress on the complex policy issues involved in the next steps of development. This involves serving both older adults and families with young children as residents in a shared site with integrated programming; utilizing the strengths of each group to meet the needs of both. We...
May 2019 Update from Karin Krause Finally! Time to mow, pick flowers and watch the trees bloom! That was a long wait again this year! Just as exciting as the look and feel of spring; is where we are at with development plans at Hope & A Future! This has also been a long wait and there is a lot more to do before we can dig a hole in the ground. But we had been stumped for quite some time in the area of navigating the policies that will affect how we do things in the next phase. I...
Paula & Karin reflect on their mentor-ship with Bill Perkins Happy Spring!We are now planning yard work and gardening projects! For those of you interested in getting outside to dig in the dirt, please sign up to volunteer on our website! Watch our website and facebook for volunteer opportunities! We will have more information in the May newsletter! As we look at what is next for Hope & A Future, we are encouraging ourselves with what we have accomplished in years past. A while ago Paula Reif (co-founder of Hope & A Future) and I...
Karin invites you to join the conversation in this month’s reflection on Hope & A Future’s pioneering efforts. Valentine Month is here! My favorite picture of love comes from the movie, It’s A Wonderful Life, one of my favorites. Just like the character George Bailey (pictured left), I have ridden the teeter-totter between wonderful life and nearly intolerable hard life. I am guessing we have all had our moments. Where each of us ends up most of the time is informed by; our attitudes, internal beliefs, spiritual life, those we listen to around us, the status quo...
Karin Krause & Paula Reif’s Reflection As we begin 2019, we hope you are enjoying memories of time spent with family and friends during the holiday season! We are happy to report our days were filled with laughs and love! And now we enter the near hibernation months in Wisconsin—we wait for the days to get longer and we watch the winter weather. For us, highlights now become table talk around home cooked meals and reading books or watching movies by the wood stove. However, watching the news can bring an unwelcome chill. As a country, it appears we have a...
WOW! We are facing the end of another amazing year! And again, we have so much to be thankful for! We have faced many ups and downs, but we faced them together and have come out stronger! That is how community works and how resilience is developed. At the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018 we were in full grief mode at Hope & A Future. Much loved residents, Joanna Overn, Bettye Barnes and Ed Clapp’s earthly lives ended here–leaving behind grieving but grateful people in the Hope & A Future Family of Friends. We remain grateful...
This month we will celebrate Thanksgiving—past, present and future! There will be Turkey at our second Friday of the Month pot-luck and house concert and folks will bring the fixings! Our hearts are with friends, family and those who need friends and family! We are so grateful for all of the people we have met on our journey to create a diverse family of friends and generations of purpose. Blessings to you as you ponder with us, all that we have to be thankful for! As we look at how Hope & A Future has come...
Happy Fall! The change in seasons brings anticipation of good things to come. And change can be as beautifully exciting as the turning of the leaves in October; you know that good things are around the corner. But it can also be difficult. The process of creating a Therapeutic Interactive Intergenerational Neighborhood (TIIN) has involved cycles of promise, waiting, fulfillment, and anticipation. Hope & A Future’s vision for a new care model is a pioneering effort to address the needs of young and old and to bring them together in mutually beneficial ways, as Generations of Purpose. Significantly our model also helps to address the ...
Karin’s Reflection Last month I wrote about making a decision to start work on the vision for a Therapeutic Interactive Intergenerational Neighborhood. This month I will talk about starting the business plan! I still smile when I remember the day Paula and I realized we had to come up with a shorter name for the model. I said, “How about an acronym—TIIN. It sounds like a nice container that can be repurposed as the need arises.” Paula and I both laughed and then Paula said, “I actually like it. TIIN. The TIIN Model!” We both laughed and agreed...
Karin & Paula’s Reflection As we work on the many details of moving forward with the next and biggest phase of developing the TIIN model at Hope & A Future, we have been remembering the many people involved in getting us this far. We have talked about how fun it would be to share more of this heart warming story! It is filled with hard work, good will and miraculous timing. We have decided to start now. This first blog is about deciding to start! We hope our story will encourage you to step into your good ideas! You can find...
Increased Health-related Quality of Life for Families with Young Children at Hope & A Future This year we have been blessed by many in our community who have volunteered at community events on our behalf. Seeing our extended intergenerational community pull together has been inspirational and thought provoking. We’ve been encouraged by our community of volunteers-young and old. Bratfest Over memorial day weekend, we were one of 130 charities benefiting from this event, that has raised more than $1,500,000 for local organizations since 1983. Volunteering as moms with teenagers at the Zero Waste Stations was a great way to reinforce the importance...
Ruthie’s Reflection Over the past month, we have received many compliments on the blossoming Elizabeth Magnolia tree that sits at the edge of our memory garden at Hope & A Future. This tree is now in its third home and has a beautiful story to tell. Before starting Hope & A Future, Rick and Karin ran Intergenerational House, a two bed Adult Family Home (AFH) out of their family home in Middleton, Wisconsin. Prior to starting their AFH, Karin had been working as a private duty nurse in patients’ homes. Elizabeth (Liz) Sewell was a very special patient...
Karin’s Reflection Brad introducing the band at Hope & A Future’s April 4th party. On April 4th, we had a delightful event at Hope & A Future. The event itself was actually a common one for us, the unique sweetness had to do with the people present. If you have been following Hope & A Future’s development, you may already know that we exist for two reasons. One, is that I had a vision for a staffed neighborhood setting that I could not stop thinking about. The other equally important reason is the goodwill and support of the...
It’s exciting to read about recent research, which supports the Therapeutic Interactive Intergenerational Model (TIIN) we are developing. Aside from intuitively making sense, research tells us that the TIIN model will have a positive impact both for seniors and for young families with children who are seeking support. Aeron Adams, DNP, RN, PMHNP This past year, Aeron Adams, a Registered Nurse and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, completed her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. For her final project as a doctoral candidate, Aeron created a comprehensive evaluation plan to assess outcomes of Hope...
Karin’s Reflection I was first introduced to Bettye Barnes in 2006 when I escorted a friend of hers to a senior luncheon at Blackhawk Church. Her friend Ruth, lived with me in my first Adult Family Home in Middleton. Ruth was excited to have me talk with Bettye because Bettye often talked about creating a home where adults in need of care and supervision could live with a caring family. I was doing that in my home for frail seniors. At the time, my three daughters were in grade school, middle school and high school. And the...
Karin’s Reflection I met Joanna Overn on her birthday June 8th 2013. A friend of hers had brought her to a party at Hope & A Future. This was on the occasion of our monthly potluck and house concert. The friend told us Joanna would no longer be able to live on her own and he was looking for help from me. I am an RN that went into nursing 38 years ago with the hope of developing better services and living situations for frail seniors. For the past 15 years, I had been living with seniors...
Ruthie’s Reflection There have been many changes in the clientele at Hope & A Future in the last couple of months. Transition to a new environment can be incredibly stressful and difficult for anyone, and seniors in need of care go through the same stresses and difficulties as anyone else when it is time to move. Sometimes we have people coming to live at Hope & A Future who are leaving homes they’ve lived in for several years – staff and residents included. This is the case with one of our new residents. The decision to move was one that...
Many struggle to find a hopeful perspective and a helpful approach to the challenges of life. Neighbors live in isolation from one another, and programs trying to serve the needs of the old or the young are designed and implemented separately from one another. We believe there is hope in collaboration, in synergistically pairing the wisdom and experiences of our aging population with the energy of our younger population to create a sustainable community with a life of its own. There is hope in tapping the resources of faith communities and business sectors to address social problems, and we...
Last month, we shared what we have learned from some of the voices of our community. We also said that we would have more to share on the results of our literature review, and from ongoing interviews with current and former community members. Making a Difference for Young Families Our research and experience tells us that the model we are creating—the Therapeutic Interactive Intergenerational Neighborhood (TIIN)—is distinct from other programs. It adds unique value for residents and the broader community by bringing people together from different ages and backgrounds, creating a unique mix of talents and resources also...
On July 8th we celebrated the first Family of Friends Reunion at Hope & A Future (H&F). About 70 people representing three generations (four by spirit) gathered to dedicate the memorial garden developed by family and volunteers and displayed the finished Family of Friends Tree mural painted by Ruthie (activity director at H&F). Flowers in memory garden In this post, Ruthie, a staff member, and Karin, our founder, share what this experience meant to them. Ruthie’s Reflection All of the residents kept checking up on me as I was painting the tree mural. The evening that I started painting,...
So many people have contributed to shaping where we stand today—both in helping to accomplish what we have already achieved and in laying a foundation of experience for the future. This includes current and former residents and their families as well as staff who have worked alongside Karin Krause over the years. In order to learn from our community members, we have been conducting interviews with residents, their families and caregivers, and family members of former residents. These conversations have uncovered several common themes, confirming our perspective on what Hope & A Future is providing to its...
Many of you know about Hope and a Future’s vision: to develop a Therapeutic Interactive Intergenerational Neighborhood (TIIN) that is sustainable and replicable. You may also know about our mission: to promote meaningful relationships between young and old, empowering individuals to serve and strengthen one another in a diverse, faith-based, green community. In this blog post, we will give you a better feel for the land itself. Honoring the Past When people first see our “country estate” they often wonder what we’re up to. The uniqueness of the property also evokes curiosity about its history. It is thought...
The decline of rural life in this country has created a shift in the ability of families to care for each other. Families with young children have had to move to larger urban areas in pursuit of work, and elder family members have been left in rural areas or small towns. Both groups have been growing up or growing older in a place that no longer allowed for the free and mutual exchange of knowledge, physical support and community. Young families that have moved for work have often found themselves in unfriendly cities in which they were economically and...
Looking back at the development of Hope & A Future in 2016, I’m struck both by the rhythms and the spontaneity that have been part of the story. Rhythms—regularly scheduled events and activities—have sustained and developed our community, laying a foundation for more spontaneous, organic efforts and events. Rhythms—Laying a Foundation for Good Potluck and ConcertsOne of the highlights for our community happens the second Friday of each month at 6pm. We gather for a potluck meal and enjoy the musical talents of our local community. Great food and fun is had by all! Bands and artists this past year have...
As we communicate with prospective funders and community partners, we are asked who we serve. But it’s about more than top down service delivery; what we’re creating is mutually rewarding to all involved and holds great promise for the increasing impact it will have in Madison. On this #GivingTuesday, reflect with us about the community we’re creating together. Our Current Program Clearly, we serve the senior residents who are part of our adult family home, together with their families. We have reflected on the stories of two residents who have played key roles in our community, and who recently passed away....
Margaret shared a home with my family for six or seven years. I was her nurse and she became a household matriarch in our adult family home. On Friday October 16th we prepared for our Second-Friday-of-the-Month potluck and house concert. Margaret was not feeling well enough to eat, but ironed her clothes, spruced herself up and came out looking beautiful in her sparkly grey sweater and jewelry. She loved to look gorgeous for parties. With great joy she anticipated listening to Mike McConnell, our guest musician on classical guitar, telling us that her Grandfather had loved classical guitar. After...
Fall is here, and we celebrated Oktoberfest on Friday, September 28th. Great food and music were shared and enjoyed: bratwurst and other meats and side dishes, together with sauerkraut and other trimmings and toppings that played to the festive theme. For those who wished to join in, several seasonally appropriate varieties of “Bier” were available for sample. Patricia Stone and Don Becker provided traditional music via accordion, and The Walker Polka Mammas dance troupe made a special appearance. Volunteer Appreciation This was also an opportunity for us to thank our amazing volunteers. So far this year,...
We can’t believe that fall is almost here! It has been a busy and fruitful summer for Hope & A Future (H&F); a quick stop by the house will confirm that. We are now the proud owners of twelve chickens—that’s right, twelve! Our garden, which was designed and planted by our wonderful volunteers, is bountiful and overflowing with goodness. As a result, the dinner table here has seen a steady presence of fresh produce from the garden…and we have donated over 300 lbs of fresh vegetables to Middleton Outreach Ministry. Looking Back: Summer Happenings Summer...
There are some things that are hard to explain, even to myself. Grief. I thought I had it defined when I read a description C.S. Lewis wrote about grief coming in waves. It will suddenly hit you hard and later you think you have made it to the other side. Yet it rolls in again. That is one part of grief. But there is another part that is harder to define. I will try. I am a caregiver for seniors and I live at Hope & A Future with the people I provide care for. The strengths...
Welcome to the first Hope & A Future Blog. At Hope & A Future we are starting something new! When people come visit us we are consistently told that we need to let people know about this beautiful project! We hope to begin construction on the next phase in 2016 and there is already so much happening here. So this is a quick Merry Christmas introduction to something new and old coming from heaven to earth! First a quick note to say that Christmas is fast approaching and if you are still shopping, please consider using Amazon...