Such connections, however, have an impact on an individual's psychological development and foster better elder care. If they don't have a positive feeling about aging, then the public-policy support for aging will not be extensive. Institutional care will look like a reasonable alternative. I feel we would rob people of dignity if we did not expect them to contribute to society in a variety of ways throughout their lives. The intergenerational programs are not ends in and of themselves, they are vehicles for strengthening communities.
Seniors often have the patience, time, and wisdom of experience from which young people can benefit.
In turn, stimulation and integration are crucial for elders' mental health. Isolation and depression are rampant among the elderly, says geriatric psychiatrist Mark Poster, a clinical instructor at the Harvard-affiliated Veterans Administration medical center in Brockton, Massachusetts. For some elderly people, the focus of the therapy becomes getting them to come out of their rooms. Poster notes that intergenerational programs, while clearly beneficial, may be preceived as fringe benefits by managed-care providers. New types of housing and care programs will have to be created, she maintains, because aging baby boomers won't stand for age segregation.