Intergenerational Community Building – with InterGenNS

Am Johal sits down with the team at InterGenNS, a North Shore community project working to inspire intergenerational connections. This intergenerational trio, Rachelle Patille, Sue Carabetta, and June Maynard, speak about bridging the gap of academia and community, the impacts that COVID had on project goals and funding, and the challenges of embarking upon community-engaged research. The team also explores their personal stories that led them towards intergenerational programming, and discusses how InterGenNS has created community connectivity and collaboration among organizations, partners, and community members across different ages and social intersections. They also speak about their optimism and excitement surrounding the future of InterGenNS as we slowly emerge from the pandemic. Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/153-intergenns.html Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/153-intergenns.html Resources: — Celebrating Intergenerational Day with the InterGenNS Project: https://www.sfu.ca/gerontology/news-events/news/celebrating-intergenerational-day.html — North Shore Community Resources: https://www.nscr.ca/ — SFU’s Gerontology Research Centre: https://www.sfu.ca/grc.html Bios: Sue Carabetta Sue has been a manager at NSCR since March of 2020. She loves people, laughter and journeying the highs and lows of life and health alongside others. She is passionate about building a thriving community on the North Shore and never ceases to be amazed at all the stories of incredible volunteers and seniors. Before taking time to raise her three kids, Sue graduated from UBC with a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics and worked with seniors as the Director of the Dietary department at Cedarview Lodge in North Vancouver. More recently, she worked in stroke recovery on the North Shore before joining our team. She currently oversees our staff and programs for Better at Home, Caregiver Support, Seniors One Stop, Volunteer North Shore, and our Inter-Agency Network. June Maynard June is a retired early childhood educator who worked in direct child care, community care facilities licensing, and managing a child care resource program. She has always had an interest in intergenerational concepts and has seen first hand the life changing impacts of such programs. Once retired, June wanted to pursue intergenerational initiatives for the North Shore from a community development perspective. She assisted in the launch of the InterGenNS (Intergenerational North Shore) Project in July of 2019. In the process she has very cleverly created her own volunteer position and has had a rewarding experience in being a community representative for this Project. Rachelle Patille Rachelle Patille is a Gerontology Graduate Student at SFU who works as a Graduate Research Assistant on the InterGenNS Project, with the support of SFU and various North Shore Organizations. Her research focuses on the impact of intergenerational connections and relationships on older adults in a society that is segregated by age and divided generationally. She has previous experience in the public health and community health sectors with a specific focus on older adults health and well-being. Cite this episode: Chicago Style Johal, Am. “Intergenerational Community Building – with InterGenNS” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, January 6, 2022. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/153-intergenns.html