Can 
Connection Heal Us?
Key Findings:
This report is about solutions.
The problems of social isolation and loneliness are well documented.
We know that too many Americans, particularly young adults and older ones, feel lonely too much of the time.
We know how we got here – the decline in membership groups, civic and community engagement, and organized religion; the influence of technology and social media; the increase in time spent alone.
We know about the consequences, too – increased risk for heart disease, stroke, depression, dementia, premature death. On a societal level, isolation and loneliness fuel many of the biggest problems in America today – polarization, addiction, gun violence.
“Loneliness is a biological signal that we need human connection, just like thirst is a biological signal that we need water. Instead of seeing it as a deficiency, let’s respond with curiosity and then allow it to move us into action.”
“The problem can get attention because it tugs at our emotions, but we often neglect thinking about the goal. We don’t want to just not be lonely. We want to be socially connected and to thrive.”
But here’s what nearly all the experts miss:
miss:
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of organizations find in younger and older people both a loneliness problem and a solution.
Instead of treating loneliness as an individual struggle, these groups create spaces where younger and older people form real relationships built on shared purpose and mutual support. They don’t just offer companionship; they create ways for people to matter to each other – to work, learn, teach and create side by side.
These organizations – mostly small and hyper-local – bring older and younger generations together, not as victims, but as agents of change. Not for commiseration, but for friendship, learning, collaboration, joy and healing.
This report is about them, and what they need to succeed.
This report is about them, and what they need to succeed.
Photo Credit: Mirabella at ASU
01—The Rub
Enough about the problem.
Headlines about the problems of social isolation and loneliness keep coming. Given the scope and impact of the problem, that’s a good thing. But is dwelling on the problem stalling progress?
“Throughout my time working as a special advisor to the U.S. Surgeon General on the loneliness epidemic, the main thing people wanted to know was, ‘What are the programs and solutions that currently exist, and how can we get connected and involved?’”
Many of the people we talked to would like to see as much, or more, attention paid to solutions.
“The isolation is real,” says De’Amon Harges, founder of The Learning Tree, a nonprofit in Indianapolis that celebrates the talents of neighbors and cultivates opportunities for connection. “But let’s focus on how to bring people together. Where is the news about what’s possible?”
Some organizations address loneliness but don’t dwell on the problem – at least not by name – fearing a stigma that may drive people away or cause shame. Instead, these organizations use language that points to solutions. They refer to weavers, builders, bridgers, civic catalysts. And they focus on belonging, mattering, social health, connection, cogeneration, trust and community.
“We understand the problem,” says Gabriel Plata, communications manager at Weave, the Aspen Institute’s initiative to repair social trust. “But we are focused on supporting a movement of weavers who are all about mutuality, fostering relationships in the community, and mutual support.”
Dana Griffin is the founder and CEO of Eldera, an online platform that connects 6-17-year olds with people over 60 for virtual conversations. “We do reduce loneliness in older adults and improve mental health in young people,” she says, “but that is an outcome, not the mission.” The mission, she says, is to connect generations for “mutual learning, collaboration, and joy.”
Profile
Brenda Atchison
Brenda Atchison was a member of the Mayor’s Advisory Council on Aging in Boston when the city launched a new partnership with a homesharing startup called Nesterly, connecting older people who want to age in place with students and young professionals seeking affordable housing.
Atchison, 73, raised her hand to volunteer and has been renting out a room in her home to college students and young professionals for seven years now.
“The financial benefit was my motivation when I got started,” she says, but she began cherishing the intergenerational friendships over time. “We get to have so many quality moments together over an extended period of time. And I’ve been able to learn so much about different cultures, because I get people from everywhere, and I always share things about myself, too.”
02—The News
Age-gap friendships are in.
Stories about intergenerational—or “age-gap”—friendships are increasingly popular. And that’s a step in the right direction. Bet you’ve seen the headlines.
“During the pandemic, so many stories about older Americans were about people in nursing homes who were dying in isolation, providing a really dark sense of what it’s like to grow old in America. I think there’s a real interest in stories that push back against that and offer a different vision of what it’s like to grow old in a more connected way.”
Using data from a media measurement software company, we documented the trend. Over the past five years, the number of news stories that mention intergenerational or age-gap friendships has increased 214%, while the estimated reach of these stories has increased 256%, indicating an increase in publications and websites with larger readerships.
| Media on age-gap friendships | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of articles | 411 | 937 | 1070 | 970 | 1,289 |
| Estimated reach of those articles (in billions) | 2.5 | 3.97 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.9 |
Source: Meltwater Media
It’s easy to see the appeal of stories about chance encounters that become unlikely, intergenerational friendships. They’re counterintuitive, a tad rebellious, hopeful and fun.
“We are all aware of how much people are struggling with loneliness,” says Charley Locke, the rare journalist who writes about both aging and childhood or, as she notes, “what’s it’s like to grow up and grow old.” Stories about age-gap friendships, Locke says, feed people’s hunger to learn “how to break through the isolation that we’re all experiencing. Intergenerational friendships are relationships that break through that isolation, often in unconventional ways.”
Profile
Karen Morris
“About six years ago, NPR’s StoryCorps asked me to work with them on the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, where I interviewed elders who were alive at the time. I drove around Chicago doing interviews. I got tired of being the interviewer, so I asked my students if they wanted to come with me and do the interviewing. That’s when I first saw the magic. Older and younger populations are extremely vulnerable, and they would end up holding hands, crying and just hugging each other. By the end of it, I knew I had to do something.”
Karen Morris
Co-Founder of the LGBTQ+ International Dialogue Project
03—The Fix
Why age-gap friendships work.
Why exactly do intergenerational friendships work? How do they differ from friendships with peers or relationships with older or younger relatives? We asked these questions over and over again. To summarize what we heard, age-gap friendships:
“I’ve found it hard to relate to people my own age in a vulnerable way, so I’ve turned to older people who I can be more open and honest with because they’ve already been through it and can look at my situation with less judgment.”
Illuminate life’s journey. Most people interact predominantly with people about their own age. The resulting age segregation limits their understanding and worldview. Like a flashlight pressed up against a wall, it only lights up a small circle.
Spending time with people of different ages and life stages reminds us that life is a journey, that each stage of life has rewards and challenges, that tough times don’t last forever. Age-gap friendships give younger people the benefit of the past and help older people stay connected to the present and future. As the flashlight moves away from the wall, more is illuminated.
Build more than one bridge. Of all the things that divide us, intergenerational connection is the ultimate “short bridge,” in the words of UC Berkeley professor john a. powell. Crossing it brings opportunities to transcend the more difficult divides of race, culture and politics – to build what Harvard professor Robert Putnam calls “social capital.”
Create a no-compete zone. When surrounded by people our own age, there’s a tendency to “compare and despair.” When there’s a generation gap, many people say they feel less threatened by others’ life choices or circumstances.
In peer groups, “you’re all dealing with all the same issues, and it’s like a dog that keeps chewing on the same bone,” says Cheryl Svensson, founder of the Birren Center on Autobiographical Studies and an advocate for using life stories to connect generations. “Talking with someone from a different generation is refreshing.”
Lack the stress of family. Many young people have an easier time being patient with older adults who aren’t their parents, says Trish Lopez, founder of Teeniors, a nonprofit in New Mexico that connects tech-savvy teens with older adults for personalized tutoring. “I hear them say that a lot,” she says, “that they naturally have more patience with new, older friends than with the people in their household.”
Expose the shared experience of ageism. Both younger and older people know how it feels to be dismissed, minimized or marginalized because of their age. Both generations know how much it matters to be heard.
“Intergenerational friendships can expose you to people who face different challenges, and that can create empathy that results in a desire to fight for more widespread systemic change. That can result in less social isolation and more equality.”
Offer two-way learning opportunities. When younger and older people become friends, “both parties are learning something new,” says Amy Elliot, director of Opening Minds Through Art, an intergenerational art-making program for people living with dementia. ”We become teachers and learners at the same time. There’s something life-affirming about that.”
Expand imagination. “Part of bringing generations together is that younger people can expand the imaginations of older generations, and older people can expand the imaginations of younger generations,” says Zhailon Levingston, a Broadway director and leader at the Inheritance Theater Project, a bridge-building theater group. “I deeply believe that the greatest political tool that we have is our imagination.”
Provide a foundation for social change. Intergenerational friendships can expand older and younger people’s understanding of past and future challenges facing society. In that way, Serena Bian, a former advisor to the U.S. Surgeon General in his work on loneliness, says they’re essential for social progress.
“How will young people know about the work that has been done without the perspectives and lived experiences of elders?” she asks. “There would be such a sense of soul loss or lack of placement in society. The issues we face are generational and they require intergenerational collaboration.”
Profile
Gwen Johnson
Gwen Johnson founded Mamaw Mentorship, a group of older women in Eastern Kentucky teaming up with teen girls to build social connection and self-esteem, break the cycle of intergenerational trauma, and help save their Appalachian community.
The “grandmothers” visit the local school during lunch. “We bring the wisdom of lived experience, even though we are trying really hard to do more listening than talking,” Johnson says. “We’re trying to develop flesh-and-blood, warm-body relationships and be present. It’s delightful.”
Despite the hardships, Johnson remains optimistic. “We’re making strides. Seeing the excitement on the kids’ faces when we walk in, hearing them call ‘the Mamaws are here!’ It’s heartwarming. We’re not just filling a gap in their lives; they’re filling a gap in ours, too.”
04—The Field
Diverse and growing
A wide variety of organizations open a wide variety of doors to intergenerational friendship and social healing. Large and small, hyperlocal and global, virtual and in-person, organizations unite generations in:
“There was an older person at a nonprofit we worked with who talked about how they already have their professional relationships and don’t need to focus on strengthening social connection at work. But then you have entry-level people coming in and they don’t have established relationships or networks. I think the greatest risk is for younger professionals.”
→ Conversation
→ Service to others and the community
→ Religious or spiritual communities
→ Workplaces
→ Advocacy efforts
→ Affinity groups for populations too often marginalized
→ Education and health initiatives
→ Homesharing and co-housing
→ Storytelling
→ The arts
“There are so many programs addressing social isolation and loneliness that we see a kind of collective scale,” notes Janet Oh, CoGenerate’s senior director of innovation. “It’s not a scaling of a particular model; it’s collectively addressing a social issue in 1,000 different ways.”
“There’s a hunger to identify which intergenerational programs have the greatest potential to quickly scale and dramatically reduce social isolation and loneliness in America. But speed and scale might not be the best metrics, given how deeply relational the majority of this work is.”
For most of these organizations, creating cross-generational relationships and reducing loneliness are a bonus, not a primary goal.
Of the 167 organizations that participated in our community of practice, only 4% say the primary focus of their work is intergenerational. The majority say the focus of their work is either community building (28%) or working with older people (25%). The next largest focus areas are arts and culture (8%) and mental health (7%).
Some organizations bring all generations together to address the marginalization that comes when, as Nicole Kenney says, “being the only leads to being lonely.” She founded Hey Auntie! to connect Black women across ages and life stages for social and emotional support.
The same principle is in effect for groups that unite people with disabilities and medical conditions, veterans, the LGBTQ+ community, and more.
“When so many people share the same lived experiences, and when you’re all working together to support each other, it takes an experience that might otherwise feel solitary and makes it feel very connected and communal,” says Dr. Chris Rosa, president and CEO of The Viscardi Center.
Veterans are at high risk for social isolation and loneliness when their service ends. Lori Murphy, a licensed clinical social worker, created the Compassionate Contact Corps to match trained volunteers with older veterans for weekly phone or video calls. The program has been implemented at 120 of the 172 VA medical centers across the country.
Karen Morris, co-founder of the LGBTQ+ Intergenerational Dialogue Project, says some schools and institutions have tried to keep older, queer people away from young people. “Bringing these generations together for mutual learning has been transformational. It makes people feel seen, heard and important. And then they want to do that for others.”
Profile
Jimmy Palmaro & Shanaya Perkins
Jimmy Palmaro and Shanaya Perkins first met at a storytelling workshop hosted by Stoop Stories, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit working to increase social connection, preserve neighborhood stories, and revitalize communities through stoop culture and intergenerational connection. They were later featured in an award-winning short documentary film that explores their unlikely friendship as they discover a shared love of poetry, music and street games.
05—The Sparks
Curiosity and courage.
What do participants need to spur cogenerational connection and begin to reduce social isolation and loneliness? The people we spoke to zeroed in on two things: curiosity and courage.
“People from different generations can feel judged and othered before they even begin speaking. Curiosity begins to unwind all of that.”
“Curiosity is what leads to openness or receptivity,” says Elly Katz, founder of Sages & Seekers, a program of ONEgeneration that matches high school students with older adults for meaningful conversation. “Once people begin to share and get curious, that’s when they begin letting go of ageist stereotypes.”
De’Amon Harges of The Learning Tree, an Indianapolis organization that teaches asset-based community development, believes people need to get more curious about their neighbors’ talents. “We never ask people to use their gifts in their local community,” he says. “People know what their gifts are and they are ready to contribute, but we have to ask.”
The courage – to speak up, be vulnerable, tolerate discomfort – is critical, too. “We always explain that it is going to be awkward to start,” says Eldera’s Dana Griffin, “and that’s a good thing because relationships take a little work.”
“It takes courage to see and be seen,” says Liv Schaffer, director of Dance Generators. “We can cerebrally understand the importance of social connection, but the actual internal work it takes to allow yourself to be seen by others — which is harder than seeing others — is a whole other thing. It’s intensely vulnerable. You can’t shy away from it.”
Profile
Casey Wheeler & Georgia Lacy
Casey Wheeler, a senior at the School of Art Institute Chicago, signed up for the LGBTQ+ Intergenerational Dialogue Project’s year-long class seeking friendship and a stronger sense of community. Early on, she connected deeply with elder Georgia Lacy.
“Georgia had a very motherly energy about her,” reflects Wheeler. “She perceived leadership qualities in me that I wasn’t yet ready to see in myself. It meant so much to have someone voice what makes me special.”
The two women meet outside of class to share meals and conversation. “Casey is a dream,” says Lacy. “She talks to me like I’m a regular person and with such insight and connection. It’s the relationship I wish I could have with my older grandkids.”
“Being ‘fully out’ is something I think younger generations do so well,” Lacy says. “It hasn’t always been easy for me.” She says the in-person experience helped her “emerge out of the cocoon stage” post-Covid and gave her the courage to join a local church group.
06—The Methods
Creativity speeds connection.
When it comes to bringing generations together, many believe creativity and storytelling can foster connection faster than conversation alone. Whether through dance, music, art, theater, writing, or cooking, shared creative experiences allow people to drop their guard, build trust, and find common ground, without feeling forced.
“Just listening to someone share deeply is connecting because it reveals our shared humanity. People either identify with what’s being shared and feel seen, like they’re holding a mirror up to themselves, or they gain a better understanding of someone who is different from them, like they’re looking through a window into a new world.”
“Aren’t we all kind of assuming that the arts have healing powers?” asks Liv Schaffer of Dance Generators. “It’s the shared art-making, especially a body-based activity, that has healing capacity. It allows the nervous system to relax. We can drop in and connect with ourselves in a deeper way, which then allows us to connect more deeply with others, too.”
Amy Elliot, a leader at Opening Minds Through Art, has seen how drawing and painting create deep bonds between younger people and elders with dementia. “They are creating something beautiful together in an environment that is failure-free,” she says, “and in the process, they discover shared interests.”
During the pandemic, Rowena Richie and two collaborators matched increasingly isolated older adults in the San Francisco Bay Area with artistic friends who had time on their hands. They created Artists & Elders, which provided stipends to artists to spend a short time with and create a gift for local elders. “The time limit is a creative constraint,” Richie says, “and it really forces acute attention and deep listening.”
Some nonprofits that bring generations together focus primarily on storytelling, including the Koreatown Storytelling Project, The Legacy Project, and Writers Room at Drexel University.
“Theater needs everyone to participate in the same way that a country needs all its citizens to participate. There is this third element – the art, the play, the activity – that allows us to come together in service of a higher cause.”
Coming together across generations to share stories is embedded in the ceremonial practices of many indigenous people. “That is our legacy and our history and the reason we are still here,” says Paulette Moore, a Kanien’kehàka (Mohawk) filmmaker, podcaster and the founder of The Aunties Dandelion, a media organization centered on sharing the stories and perspectives of Indigenous changemakers. “Storytelling puts us in relationship to our natural world and everything has meaning when we tell stories about it.”
Sharing stories is a big component of the Foster Grandparent program Raquel Padia ran for Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission. “I had a college intern who was new to being in recovery and had experienced domestic violence,” Padia says. “She spoke with a grandma who had been through that and made it to the other side, and they were able to really connect and understand each other.”
Dr. Chris Rosa of The Viscardi Center says we can all feel beat up by life, but “it’s affirming when you can convert your life experiences into cultural capital that empowers someone younger, helping them avoid pitfalls and encouraging them to see the tougher moments as experiences that will build grit as they move forward in life.”
“Telling stories that are grounded in lived experience and sharing hard-earned perspectives comes with aging,” says Rosa, “and it reminds older people with disabilities they are intrinsically valuable.”
Profile
Isabella Mier
Isabella Mier was severely bullied in high school and spent most of her junior year on a mental health leave. She was losing hope and contemplating suicide when she heard about the Heart of Los Angeles Eisner Intergenerational Orchestra.
A viola player for 10 years, she decided to go to a rehearsal. As soon as it came to a close, the group asked her to become the new Principal Violist. She remains the youngest in the group.
“It really gave me a reason to keep going,” she says. “Over the past three years, I have gotten to know and been supported by an incredible group of people of all ages and cultures who have helped me believe in myself and expanded my vision of what’s possible.”
07—The Glue
Trust.
Intergenerational friendships require trust, and building trust takes time.
“It’s so important to give people the agency to move at the pace of connection that feels right to them, inviting them in to share as little or as much as feels right for them — to practice being seen and seeing, and building trust along the way.”
“It’s not about doing a one-off thing every year,” says Gabriel Plata, communications manager at Weave, the Aspen Institute’s initiative to repair social trust. “You have to be persistent, continue engaging in your community and being in relationship with others. It takes investment and work.”
Moving slowly has been an intentional strategy for Philadelphia-based Nicole Kenney, the founder of Hey Auntie!, a platform that connects Black women across ages and life stages. “Many of us, if not all of us, desire deep and meaningful connections,” Kenney says, “but you have to build trust and relational equity first.”
Pushing for deep connection too soon can be detrimental. People build trust differently, says Scott Shigeoka, author of SEEK. “Some people need to stay in the shallow water for a while before they build up the courage to go deep,” he says. “Instead of being impatient or judging their process, we need to allow them to build trust in the way they want to.”
As a group leader, sharing in a vulnerable way can help get things started. “I’ll often share something personal to set the tone,” says Raquel Padia, Foster Grandparent program coordinator at the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission.
Padia says the older adults in her program seem to have an easier time opening up than younger ones. “I think it’s because the seniors have already grown as a result of their difficult experiences, so they aren’t carrying shame,” she says. “The younger people take a bit longer to open up, but they do eventually get there.”
“Intergenerational spaces that feel best are ones where people feel mutuality and reciprocity in their engagement with one another. It isn’t transactional or hierarchical. Wisdom and experience can evolve and flow from anyone.”
Profile
Zhailon Levingston
Zhailon Levingston, artistic director at the Inheritance Theater Project, started a salon series that’s inspired by the Jewish word “Havruta,” which means long-term literature study. He meets weekly with a woman named Rebecca to wrestle with a complicated text by James Baldwin.
“I’m a young, Black, queer dude and Rebecca is an older, Jewish, straight woman who is a religious text scholar and now a theater major,” Levingston says. “We are finding so much inspiration and generative energy through meeting every week and knowing we are committed to talking and wrestling with this text and each other over a long period of time.”
08—The Inevitable
Conflict.
Picture a culinary arts program where intergenerational teams work side by side in a fast-paced kitchen to learn the skills they’ll need to get restaurant jobs. Conflict happens.
“It’s not all warm and fuzzy,” says Giovanna Fischer, chief equity officer at the Los Angeles LGBT Center that runs the culinary arts program. Her first goal: “letting go of trying to make it exclusively positive.”
Bringing generations together requires more than good intentions – it takes practice. Conflict emerges when power dynamics, communication styles, and expectations clash. The challenge isn’t avoiding conflict but learning to navigate it in ways that deepen understanding.
Maureen Feldman, director of the Social Isolation Impact Project at the Motion Picture & Television Fund, finds it misleading when people assume that all younger people automatically make great matches for older people. “All older adults are not the same so you shouldn’t put them in one box,” Feldman says. “You have to consider personalities and shared interests, and provide some support and coaching. Not everyone is confident in keeping conversations flowing.”
For Casey Wheeler, having a facilitator present during The LGBTQ+ Intergenerational Dialogue Project was key. “I didn’t always know how to address my discomfort, if I found myself in a conversation with an older person who was dominating me and not making room for me to share my thoughts on a particular topic,” she says. “The facilitators help catch that, though, which is something I really appreciate.”
Training for all participants can help, too. “We had 19 Grandparents go through 10 weeks of training last year,” says Cindy Cox-Roman, President and CEO of HelpAge USA, which is piloting Friendship Bench D.C. to promote mental health through intergenerational conversations and interventions. “These older adults learned the protocol. They don’t give advice. They listen and help the younger people solve their own problems.”
“I’d love to see more healing and training and learning and unlearning in intergenerational spaces. Learning to live with tension, how to extend grace, how to live in the gray, give people the benefit of the doubt, assume good intentions.”
Profile
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous, with an estimated membership of over 2 million people in more than 180 countries, serves people of all ages with addiction issues. Bill Wilson, the organization’s co-founder, wrote that “almost without exception, alcoholics are tortured by loneliness.”
Madeline joined AA when she was 27. While you can’t force intimacy, she says being “a friend of Bill” is a shortcut. “We have a shared language and understanding for the importance of being of service,” she says, “so we can skip the small talk and be completely honest right away.”
By attending meetings in Brooklyn and over Zoom, Madeline has formed several deep relationships with older women she fondly refers to as her “sober moms.”
“There is something so amazing about being able to access such wisdom and to know that, no matter what I go through in life, I’ll be able to find someone in recovery who is on the other side and can share their experience with me.”
09—The Future
Virtual and IRL.
Sure, scrolling can contribute to loneliness, but technology also offers opportunities for connection, both virtually and in real life (IRL).
“The main service we provide is not tech support. It is human connection, and the level to which we recognize that is the level to which we continue to succeed.”
Today, a growing number of sites and apps offer the opportunity to meet others in person, including Meetup, Timeleft, There’s the Breakfast, Saturday, The Belong Center, and Peoplehood. Other sites help introduce and connect people virtually – Bumble for Friends, Nextdoor, and Yubo, to name a few – then let you take it from there.
But if you’re looking to make online connections that intentionally bridge generational divides, the options narrow. Teeniors enlists teens, both paid and volunteer, to provide in-person and virtual coaching to older people who need help with technology. It started in New Mexico but its virtual reach is now global.
Sages & Seekers offers opportunities for teens and older people to talk online or in person in Los Angeles and, when licensed, in other cities. Big & Mini has matched more younger and older people in 50 states and 27 countries for online conversations. Eldera matches young people, ages 6-17, with people over 60 “who would never have met” for virtual conversations. Each of these three initiatives has engaged about 6,000 people.
“Cogeneration can be both accessible to all and a craft that takes an artistry and alchemy of sorts. The work of small organizations like ours is thoughtful, strategic, responsive and human. It’s not one size fits all.”
Eldera’s founder Dana Griffin wants to dramatically increase that number. Doctors at the Cleveland Clinic now “prescribe” Eldera for older adults who are isolated and children who need nonclinical mental health support. Griffin is working to get state departments of aging, private companies, Medicare and Medicaid to do the same.
There are “so many organizations out there” bringing older and younger people together in person, Griffin told a Marketwatch reporter. “We’re not here to replace them. We’re here to make the intergenerational connection available to everyone.”
Some in-person initiatives – like AARP Experience Corps (in 20 cities), Opening Minds Through Arts (in hundreds of locations around the world) and Perfect Pair (now on 20 campuses) – reach more people with multiple locations. But most of the initiatives in our community of practice are small, reaching dozens or hundreds of participants.
These local programs have the advantages of small size – the ability to get to know participants more deeply, the chance to make matches based on that knowledge, and the opportunity to create meaningful partnerships with local volunteers, sponsors, funders and political leaders.
The future of cogenerational programming isn’t a choice between small or large, virtual or IRL. It’s all about the “and” – younger and older; small, medium and large; virtual and in-person. What kind of cogenerational initiatives would work best in your community?
Profile
Heaven & Gary
Heaven was a high school senior when Sages & Seekers paired her with Gary.
“Talking to Gary every Thursday is what I looked forward to most in these past weeks. Whether it’s talking about his life or telling him the things going on in mine, I truly felt that me and Gary were attentive to every word the other said.
“He taught me to make eye contact when talking to others. He told me to not apologize so much. He told me that I will be something great in life…
“One thing that I will never forget is when I told Gary how my dad had trouble finding a job because of his prison record. Gary immediately asked if he could write a recommendation on how well he has raised me, to make the employers see my father in a better light.
“I’ve never seen someone care so much about a person they have never met, and I believe if everyone acted like Gary, the world would be a little better.
“I believe I connected with Gary because we are both compassionate and care about seeing a change in the world. Talking to him was one of the best experiences I think I will ever have. Knowing that even though life will have setbacks, that I can rise above it will always stick with me and so, Gary, I thank you for that.”
Photo Credit: Lori’s Hands
10—The Need
5 keys to progress.
Former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy helped lift the curtain on the destructive power of social isolation and loneliness. If we fail to fix it, Murthy wrote, “we will continue to splinter and divide until we can no longer stand as a community or a country. Instead of coming together to take on the great challenges before us, we will further retreat to our corners—angry, sick, and alone.”
But, Murthy often asserts, we can fix it. “Our relationships are a source of healing and well-being hiding in plain sight – one that can help us live healthier, more fulfilled, and more productive lives.”
Relationships built across generations are a powerful source of connection. The organizations featured in this report, and hundreds more like them, unlock this power.
Funding 1
We need more funding for programs that bring younger and older people together to reduce isolation and loneliness. Some funders support programs that benefit older people. More funders support organizations that help children and young people. But just one foundation – The Eisner Foundation – supports only initiatives that bring younger and older people together. We need more foundations to follow their lead.
“There are intergenerational programs happening, but they’re often one-offs or they do four get-togethers a year. It eventually ends because anything that’s grassroots is really hard to sustain. We have a grant that runs out next year. How do you have consistent connections over the long term? You need funding.”
Karen Morris
Co-Founder, LGBTQ+ Intergenerational Dialogue Project
“The sustainability for nonprofit leaders doing this work is an issue. Everyone has always responded positively to the work we’re doing, but It has been incredibly difficult to raise money and that creates burnout.”
Elly Katz
Founder, Sages & Seekers
Research & Education 2
We need more and better tools to measure the impact of cogenerational programs on younger and older participants. We need tools that are used consistently and widely so comparisons can be made. And we need education to alert people to the importance of social connection, and specifically intergenerational connection, to their health and well-being.
“One of the challenges we face is that we don’t have standardized measurement for social isolation, loneliness, and social connection. We also do not have national surveillance to help us understand trends in these conditions. While we continue to work towards and advocate for these advancements, we do have a measurement inventory on our website to serve as a starting point for people looking for guidance.”
Jillian Racoosin
Executive Director, Foundation for Social Connection
“If I had the resources, the first thing I’d do is a big public campaign about the benefits of intergenerational social connections for both younger and aging individuals. These relationships can have a profound impact on physical and mental health.”
Maureen Feldman
Director of the Social Impact Project, Motion Picture & Television Fund
Training 3
We need more practitioners who are trained in best practices for bringing generations together, bridging all kinds of divides, and handling any conflicts that arise. We also need training to better equip both older and younger participants to collaborate.
“There are not enough people who are ready to show up to the work that they do with an intergenerational population and help people lean into the differences and similarities in a way that’s reflective and connecting and catalyzing.”
Liv Schaffer
Director, Dance Generators
“There’s a lot of interest, but people need to know how to run intergenerational programs well.”
Rowena Richie
Co-Creator, Artists & Elders (a project of For You Productions)
Public Spaces 4
We need more public spaces where older and younger people can meet – community centers, civic spaces, coffee shops, libraries, bookstores, and more.
All the tools we used to cope with social isolation during the pandemic are now reinforcing isolation, says researcher Julianne Holt-Lunstad. “We’ve made never leaving our homes more comfortable and convenient than ever before.” More gathering places can help buck the trend.
“Better access to gathering places is linked to more familiarity among neighbors, higher trust, and greater community cohesion – factors which serve society as a whole. And we know that all of these factors should improve social health – contributing to longer, healthier, and happier lives.”
Kasley Killam
Author of The Art and Science of Connection
Cogen-Friendly Policy 5
Ernest Gonzales, associate professor at NYU’s Silver School of Social Work, launched an intergenerational homesharing program in 2018 that ran into several institutional barriers. “There were many limits on who could participate due to a range of federal, state, and local policies.”
Because of these complexities, Gonzales says municipal-level investments, where mayors launch partnerships with nonprofits or private-sector companies — similar to what Boston did with the homesharing startup Nesterly — hold promise.
“Certain policies can prevent intergenerational connection, solely because different departments focus on funding specific age groups. Creating meaningful partnerships between agencies is the way forward.”
Jillian Racoosin
Executive Director, The Foundation for Social Connection
bridges between the past and the future, 
strengthen communities, break down barriers, and offer a chance for healing. We hope you take them up on that offer.
Photo Credit: Dance Generators
Why Cogeneration?
Cogeneration – a strategy to bring older and younger people together to solve problems and bridge divides – can reduce isolation and loneliness while creating understanding, empathy, mutual learning, connection and friendship.
43%We know this from the stories of those involved, from research, survey data, and books – from Robert Putnam’s Better Together: Restoring the American Community (see the chapter on Experience Corps) to Marc Freedman’s How to Live Forever: The Enduring Power of Connecting the Generations. (Dive deeper into the research with Generations United’s Making the Case for Intergenerational Programs and CoGenerate’s Making the Case: A collection of research on cogeneration.)
At CoGenerate, we have found that the most successful cogenerational initiatives include:
Older and younger acquaintances have the best chance of becoming friends when they see one another regularly – in person or virtually – over sustained periods of time.
Younger and older people who come together in shared purpose – for example, to deliver meals to neighbors, sing in a choir, or knock on doors for a candidate – start by having something in common that means a lot to them.
When older and younger people collaborate as partners, they bring complementary skills and talents to the table, producing better solutions. They also find ways to settle disagreements and share decision-making power.
purpose brings people together and keeps them coming back, and partnership – over 
time and with practice – produces teamwork and trust.
Photo Credit: Lori’s Hands
150+ organizations building 
connection between generations
Asheville and Waynesville, NC
Regional
SeekHealing brings people of all ages together to heal trauma and build mutual support within communities, using the power of human connection to address loneliness and addiction.
“Most intergenerational programs, when they’re done well, help to address loneliness. What doesn’t help are intergenerational activities where there isn’t a lasting relationship.”
20 College Campuses Nationwide
National
Perfect Pair matches student volunteers with seniors in the community for one-on-one, in-person and virtual intergenerational connections that reduce social isolation and loneliness.
Seattle, WA • Manhattan, NY
National
Soapbox Project brings generations together at community events to heal climate anxiety and loneliness through connection, learning, and action. The group aims to create a more inclusive, unified, and effective climate justice movement.
Around the world
Global
Big & Mini, a tech startup, brings young adults and elders together for virtual conversations. Created by three students attending the University of Texas in Austin, Big & Mini reports more than 6,124 members across the globe.
“There are barriers to connection that are generational, but it’s also important to look at race and class. Lower income people have the highest rate of saying they have nobody to confide in. They’re often working 2-3 jobs and trying to make ends meet, and become socially isolated as a result.”
Massachusetts
State
FriendshipWorks reduces elder isolation by connecting younger volunteers with older adults for friendship and support. With a presence in Boston, Brookline, Newton, Somerville and Cambridge, they report 534 friendship matches.
Arizona
State
Heirloom Collective builds cohousing developments, offering space for former foster care youth and single older adults to live together, support each other, and create community.
Pittsburgh, PA
City
Pittsburgh Social Health helps new, current, and returning Pittsburgh residents feel more at home in their city. They host a variety of in-person intergenerational events aimed at reducing loneliness and strengthening belonging.
Denver, CO
City
Access Gallery brings artists with disabilities together across generations, strengthening community and providing economic opportunities through commissioned work.
“It takes courage to see and be seen. We can cerebrally understand the importance of social connection, but the actual internal work it takes to allow yourself to be seen by others — which is harder than seeing others — is a whole other thing. It’s intensely vulnerable. You can’t shy away from it.”
Explore the full list by state or country ↓
United States
Arizona
California
Colorado
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Illinois
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
Ohio
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Puerto Rico
South Carolina
Tennessee
Washington
Washington, D.C.
Wisconsin
International
Australia
Canada
Egypt
India
Kenya
Uganda
United Kingdom
About this study
In the fall of 2024, we set out to learn more about organizations bringing generations together to reduce social isolation and loneliness. Our goal: to highlight useful insights for others interested in starting, expanding or funding this work.
We worked in two ways. First, we interviewed 41 people – experts in social isolation and loneliness, nonprofit leaders and program participants of all ages (see list below). We sought diversity of all kinds, along with experience, insight and candor.
Second, we sponsored a Community of Practice for 167 organizations using or interested in adopting cogenerational strategies to reduce loneliness. Together, they serve more than 230,000 people in eight countries and 30 states, plus Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. Some of these organizations include reducing loneliness in their mission. For others, it’s a byproduct of the intergenerational connection they foster.
We’re grateful to the RRF Foundation for Aging, The Eisner Foundation and The Ares Charitable Foundation for funding this research and report.
Special thanks to
Our community of practice
| Organization | Location |
|---|---|
| #SmartCohort: Coralus Morning Coffee Series | San Francisco, California, United States |
| A Caring Place | Lexington, Kentucky, United States |
| Acquaint | Bellevue, Washington, United States |
| AgeOptions | Oak Park, Illinois, United States |
| AGUILA Youth Leadership Institute, Inc | Phoenix, Arizona, United States |
| Amarillo Public Library | Amarillo, Texas, United States |
| American Connection Corps | Wichita, Kansas, United States |
| Aqui | Toronto, Canada |
| Art for the Journey | Midlothian, Virginia, United States |
| Asian Services in Action | Akron, Ohio, United States |
| Awakening Lands | Orchard Park, New York, United States |
| BC Brain Wellness Program | Vancouver, Canada |
| Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging | Cleveland, Ohio, United States |
| Beyond Us & Them | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Birren Center for Autobiographical Studies | Laguna Woods, California, United States |
| Blue Star Families | Encinitas, California, United States |
| BREAD For Life Project | Walsall, United Kingdom |
| BridgeLink Community Connections | Vancouver, Canada |
| Californjia Senior Legislature | El Cajon, California, United States |
| Carolyn Shadid Lewis | Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, United States |
| Cento | Washington, United States |
| Changing the Narrative | Denver, Colorado, United States |
| Chicago Methodist Senior Services (CMSS) | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Child Development Institute | Reseda, California, United States |
| Clemson University | Clemson, South Carolina, United States |
| Clemson University Institute for Engaged Aging | Seneca, South Carolina, United States |
| Cohousing Association of the US | Wheat Ridge, Colorado, United States |
| Concerts in Motion | New York, New York, United States |
| Connecting Generations-STFCC | Austell, Georgia, United States |
| Connection Bench (if needed, NGO fiscal sponsor: Journeymen Triangle) | Raleigh, North Carolina, United States |
| Cornwall Manor Continued Care Retirement Community | Cornwall, Pennsylvania, United States |
| D.U.O. EmpowerMEnt Services | Indianapolis, Indiana, United States |
| Dance Generators | San Francisco, California, United States |
| Dance4Healing | Sunnyvale, United States |
| Dominican Sisters of Springfield | Springfield, Illinois, United States |
| Edwardsville Neighbors | Edwardsville, Illinois, United States |
| Empowering the Ages | Rockville, Maryland, United States |
| Empowerment Opportunity Center | Decatur, Illinois, United States |
| Encore Learning | Arlington, Virginia, United States |
| Evolving Minds | Baltimore City, Maryland, United States |
| For All Ages | Simsbury, Connecticut, United States |
| Friedberg JCC | Oceanside, New York, United States |
| FriendshipWorks | Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
| Gaithersburg Beloved Community | Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States |
| Global Tinker | Beverly Hills, California, United States |
| Golden Years Foundation for Community Development | Cairo, Egypt |
| Goldie | Menlo park, California, United States |
| Grandpas United | White Plains, New York, United States |
| Green Lents | Portland, Oregon, United States |
| Hands 4Life | Jacksonville, Florida, United States |
| Healed & Refreshed | Phoenix, Arizona, United States |
| Heart of Los Angeles | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Help Us Grow Reading Program | Louisville, Kentucky, United States |
| House on King’s Corner (under Men Having Babies) | Columbus, Ohio, United States |
| InCommon | London, United Kingdom |
| India Home | Jamaica, New York, United States |
| Jesus Mary and Joseph Vocations’ Centre | Soroti, Uganda |
| Jewish Family & Child Service | Portland, Oregon, United States |
| Jewish Family and Career Services | Louisville, Kentucky, United States |
| JFCS Mpls | Golden Valley, Minnesota, United States |
| Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Minneapolis | Golden Valley, Minnesota, United States |
| Jewish Family Service of Atlantic & Cape May Counties | Margate, New Jersey, United States |
| Jewish Family Service of Somerset Hunterdon and Warren Counties, NJ | Somerville, New Jersey, United States |
| Jocelyn A. Scott | Hampton, Virginia, United States |
| Josephine Commons Committee Committed to Getting our A**sticks out of our Apartments | Lafayette, Colorado, United States |
| Juanita C. Grant Foundation Inc. | Capitol Heights, Maryland, United States |
| July Society | Dublin, California, United States |
| Kansas HOSA Future Health Professionals | Pittsburg, Kansas, United States |
| LGBTQ+ Intergenerational Dialogue Project | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Life Story Club | Brooklyn, New York, United States |
| Lifecrafting | Seattle, Washington, United States |
| Lifespan Resources, Inc. | Atlanta, Georgia, United States |
| LITA Marin (Love is the Answer) | Mill Valley, California, United States |
| Little Brothers-Friends of the Elderly (LBFE Boston) | Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
| Longer Tables | Denver, Colorado, United States |
| Lori’s Hands Metro Detroit | Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States |
| Massachusetts Coaltion to Build Community and End Loneliness | Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
| Meals on Wheels People | Portland, Oregon, United States |
| MenLiving | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| MetroHealth | Cleveland, Ohio, United States |
| Mirabella at ASU/ Heirloom Communities | Tempe, Arizona, United States |
| MKEneighbors | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States |
| Mo-Co Mid-County Village | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States |
| Montessori Intergenerational Learning Communities: Early Childhood Service Corps | Denver, Colorado, United States |
| National Resource Center for Osher Institutes, Northwestern University | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Neighborhood Companions Inc. | Dundalk, Maryland, United States |
| NeverTechLate | Manchester, Vermont, United States |
| NJ Intergenerational Orchestra | Summit, New Jersey, United States |
| Northampton Neighbors | Northampton, Massachusetts, United States |
| ODC | San Francisco, California, United States |
| Opening Minds through Art (OMA) | Oxford, Ohio, United States |
| Oregon Health & Science University | Portland, Oregon, United States |
| Otterbein Granville | Granville, Ohio, United States |
| Outlet Collective | Brooklyn, New York, United States |
| Pandamonium Productions | New York, New York, United States |
| Pasadena Village | Pasadena, California, United States |
| Perfect Pair | NY, New York, United States |
| Perk Activities | Sunrise, Florida, United States |
| Pittsburgh Social Health | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Postbook | Indianapolis, Indiana, United States |
| Project FUEL | Dehradhun, India |
| Proyecto Opciones | San Juan, New York, United States |
| Radical Partners | Miami, Florida, United States |
| RE-CONNECT | Coolangatta, Australia |
| Regents of the University of Michigan- Turner Senior Wellness Program | Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States |
| San Francisco Parks Alliance | San Francisco, California, United States |
| San Jose Public Library Foundation | San Jose, California, United States |
| SAYDS KENYA | Nairobi, Kenya |
| SDSU Center for Excellence in Aging & Longevity | San Diego, California, United States |
| SeekHealing | Asheville, North Carolina, United States |
| Senior Adults for Greater Education | Newtown, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Senior Friendship Centers | Sarasota, Florida, United States |
| Senior Services of Island County (dba Island Senior Resources ‘ISR’) | Langley, WA 98260, Washington, United States |
| SeniorAge Area Office on Aging | Springfield, Missouri, United States |
| Silver School of Social Work – NYU | New York, New York, United States |
| SilverKite Community Arts | Seattle, Washington, United States |
| Soapbox Project | Seattle, Washington, United States |
| Social Tinkering: A Human Connection Project | Rutland, Vermont, United States |
| St. John’s Senior Services & Nazareth University Gerontology Program | Rochester, New York, United States |
| STAR | Redding, Connecticut, United States |
| Store to Door | Portland, Oregon, United States |
| StoryMKE | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States |
| Sustained Dialogue Institute | Washington, United States |
| Symphonic Alignment | University Place, Washington, United States |
| Teeniors® | Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States |
| Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel | South Orange, New Jersey, United States |
| The Academy of Senior Professionals at Eckerd College (ASPEC) | St. Petersburg, Florida, United States |
| The Annuciation Greek Orthodox Church in partnership with KEFIcc.com | Placerville, California, United States |
| The Decision Tree, LLC | Warner Robins, Georgia, United States |
| The Foundation for Art & Healing | Brighton, Massachusetts, United States |
| The Stockton Center on Successful Aging | Galloway, New Jersey, United States |
| The Zero Proof Social | Dallas, Texas, United States |
| Thingtide Show & Tale LLC | Hartland, Vermont, United States |
| Third space project | Toronto, Canada |
| TransForMission (Donna Apidone) | Carmichael, California, United States |
| TSOLife | Tampa, Florida, United States |
| Under One Roof, Inc. | Norwalk, Connecticut, United States |
| United Neighborhood Houses | New York, New York, United States |
| University of Hawaii at Manoa, Hawaii Positive Engagement Project: SPARK Aloha! | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States |
| University of Massachusetts Amherst | Amherst, Massachusetts, United States |
| University of San Francisco | San Francisco, California, United States |
| UPLIFT Florida | Sarasota, Florida, United States |
| Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society | Vancouver, Canada |
| Vermut senior community inc | Pompano, Florida, United States |
| Village Santa Cruz County | Santa Cruz, California, United States |
| VillageSpaces | Culver City, California, United States |
| Virginia Commonwealth University – College of Health Professions | Richmond, Virginia, United States |
| Westborough Connects | Westborough, Massachusetts, United States |
| Westside Pacific Villages | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Wofford College | Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States |
| Wowzitude | Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, United States |
| YES! Young Enough to Serve | Bloomington, Minnesota, United States |
| Zoomers to Boomers Improv | Alameda, California, United States |
| Y.U.M.M.Y.® Time Wellness | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Seniors in Service of Tampa Bay, Inc. | Tampa, Florida, United States |
| Mind&Melody, Inc. | Miami, Florida, United States |
| Georgia Southern University Libraries | Statesboro, Georgia, United States |
| Dance Generators/ EngAge | San Francisco, California, United States |
| Massachusetts Coalition to Build Community and End Loneliness | Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
| Venprendedoras Foundation | Miami, Florida, United States |
| Inheritance Theater Project | New York, New York, United States |
| The Legacy Project, Inc. | Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
| Youth Power Project | Berkeley, California, United States |
| Citizen University | Seattle , Washington, United States |
| Fresno EOC Foster Grandparent Program | Fresno, California, United States |
| Common Agency | |
| For You’s Artists and Elders | San Francisco, California, United States |
| Northern Santa Barbara County United Way | Santa Barbara, California, United States |
| Bay Area Black Leaders/Black on Both Sides | SF Bay Area, California, United States |
Acknowledgements
We are grateful for support from the RRF Foundation for Aging, The Eisner Foundation and The Ares Charitable Foundation, which made this report possible.
Thanks also to the experts, leaders and participants we interviewed and to the leaders from 167 organizations that participated in our community of practice.
Credits
Research & Writing Sarah McKinney Gibson
Editing Stefanie Weiss, Cristina Rodriguez
Graphic Design Studio R.Bloxsom and Meghan Armstrong
Technical Support Matthew McVickar and Gary Hume
Media inquiries Stefanie Weiss, [email protected]
Send requests to add organizations to our list to [email protected]
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