Kalamazoo nonprofit ElderUP helps seniors stay active and connected through free community programs

Editor’s Note: Aging Matters is a series that examines programs, issues, and solutions that impact today’s seniors. This series is sponsored by Milestone Senior Services.

KALAMAZOO, MI — Getting old doesn’t have to be about losing physical and mental abilities and living mostly alone.  Normal, enjoyable living can continue for most people if guidance and assistance are available.  That’s the goal of an organization called ElderUP that serves people 60 and older in Kalamazoo County.

Christine Brown is ElderUP’s founder and executive director, and she’s on a mission to change attitudes. “We tend to age how we think we should age as a society, which dictates how we view aging.  

“The opposite of the U.S. would be like Okinawa — you live into your 90s, and it’s expected that you still live independently, you’re getting together with people every single day to do enrichment things on your own, and you still have a role in the community.  

“That’s versus here where you turn 30 years old, and everybody’s like ‘I’m so old!’” Brown laughs and continues, “You start to convince yourself that you’re old, and then you’re 50, and you think ‘Oh my gosh, 30 was a baby.’  And then you’re 60, and you can’t believe it, and then you’re 70, and you’re retired.”

Brown says more old people can avoid assisted-living facilities and nursing homes if they are provided with “accessible, affordable activities and events that support fitness, creativity, and social connection. The goal is to build a community that includes all ages. We need to age differently, and we can.” 

Brown is 47 years old and has three daughters. Her work history includes jobs in assisted-living centers and nursing homes, and that was the genesis of ElderUP. “It started as a way to keep the residents connected to the world they were losing connection with,” she says.  “The goal is always to support meaningful purpose in life.”  

Current activities include free music and other entertainment, coffee gatherings, potluck meals with a movie, a social club for outings, and classes for such subjects as watercolor painting, leather working, pottery, fiber arts, lap harp lessons, and exercise. The activities are held mainly at various facilities for seniors.

A popular activity is Fairytale Theater, developed as a tool to support cognitive health and community engagement. It’s a readers’ theater, meaning the actors read aloud from a script rather than performing by memory.

Brown says, “People 60 plus have an opportunity to join this group, and we go into schools and libraries and perform for children. There are costumes, and there’s audience participation. This coming month, we’ll be performing at Barnes & Noble and Bookbug.”  

ElderUP became a nonprofit, 501c3 organization a year ago, and Brown became its full-time executive director in September. Funding comes from donations, and that is going well. “It’s been so needed and so wanted that people just come forth with money, even small amounts or in-kind donations. They’re just so excited that this is available,” Brown says.

“When we set out to offer enrichment, we wanted to make sure that it was accessible to everybody. Accessible, meaning we’re removing all of the common barriers; the first barrier is transportation. Accessible also means most of the activities are free.”

In her work experience, Brown learned that many seniors could continue living independently if they had access to enrichment activities that would help prevent them from becoming dependent.

“The people who are impacted the most with these challenges are people in low-income communities or minorities.  Their hospital bills go up; every time you have something wrong, you go to the hospital. Then somebody in your family ends up being the care provider because you’re not likely to be eligible for assistance with that, or you end up in an assisted-living community that will take anybody who can pay any rate, and then it’s a subpar situation. If we can stop that from happening, then we should as a community.”

Brown continues, “Often people get stuck in those places, and they are alone. We have to change this.”  She cites a continuing Harvard study of men that began in 1938 and has found that people without social connections have a much greater chance of early death, dementia, and getting a debilitating illness or injury.

She describes an ElderUP success story: “A woman once lost everything and lived in an assisted-living home with the diagnosis of dementia.  Now with the help of the friends that she made in ElderUP, she lives on her own again and teaches fiber arts once a week.”

ElderUP started a full schedule of activities in January with a goal of getting 200 members in the first year; already, there are about 350 who participate every week. The work is sustained by about 50 volunteers.

ElderUP is focusing on the Edison neighborhood.  If you focus on one neighborhood at a time, you have time to build community,” Brown says. “They have the largest senior population, so that’s why we started there.”  

Bethany Reformed Church, 1833 S. Burdick St., provides a free office space for ElderUP.

About her mission, Brown says, “All we have to do is invite people to share the value of the greatest resource we have, which is our aging community. Someone has to open the door and remind the world that these people are extremely valuable.

“Their knowledge alone should be shared, but you can’t share it when you’re hidden behind closed doors; you can’t share it when you’re living in a community that’s not even used to seeing you walk down the street.  There’s no way that should be happening, so if we can just start off with a watercolor class or exercise, and it’s free and accessible, why wouldn’t we?”

She continues, “We envision a community where you can’t walk down the street in the summertime without seeing a group of aging people out in the park stretching together. You can’t go out on a Friday afternoon to a restaurant and not see a group of aging people enjoying meals together. We just need to normalize it.

“There’s no reason why our seniors shouldn’t be in schools more than they are. What better way to learn than from those who’ve done it?”