Greenbelt Featured in Book about Alternatives to Retirement Communities

There’s a terrific new book I recommend to Greenbelters and anyone looking for a place to live, especially in their retirement years. It’s Beth Baker’s With a Little Help from Our Friends: Creating Community as we Grow Older.

The book covers an array of alternatives to traditional retirement communities, some quite affordable (like us). Featured in the book are Greenbelt, representing a Naturally Occurring Retirement Community, an artist colony in LA., an affordable mobile home co-op in small-town Oregon, co-housing, “villages,” best friends moving in together, and “niche” communities as diverse as retired postal workers, gays and lesbians, and Zen Buddhists.

Beth’s a freelance writer who’s been published widely, and author of Old Age in a New Age: The Promise of Transformative Nursing Homes.

About Greenbelt!

I know you’re most interested in what Beth has to say about us, so here are some bits to pique your interest in the book.

Greenbelters interviewed and quoted are Christal Batey for the city, Jean Cook for GIVES), Tom White, Steve and Lola Skolnik, and yours truly. Beth and I used to be neighbors.

What you won’t find here are “fast food joints” but you will find “a nonprofit Art Deco movie ,000, a cooperative bank, a cooperative supermarket, a credit union, and a community playhouse.”
When Beth visited the Community Center with Lola, she found not just the Pottery Studio that was Lola’s destination, but a chalkboard listing 20 or so events that day alone.
Steve and Lola agree that Greenbelt works because so many residents volunteer (and I agree). Steve explains that there’s a “very high level of services, but we pay for that through high taxes.” Interesting.
There’s quite a bit about Greenbelt’s Assistance in Living (GAIL) program and I was surprised and pleased to find out how extensive the services are. In 2013 GAIL got $190,000 from the city and served nearly 900 people. Wow. GAIL services are open to all residents, in contrast with the increasingly popular “village” programs, which are private-pay, serving only dues-paying members. Beth seems to be a fan of GAIL.
She’s a fan of GIVES, too. Because it’s volunteers giving service to each other, it helps break down the stereotype of seniors being passive recipients of services.
Crystal talks about the challenge of meeting needs of boomer seniors. “Boomers don’t want to be called ‘seniors’ or ‘silver’ this or that.” As a boomer senior myself, amen.
I was shocked how much had changed since I chatted with Beth about Greenbelt – when apparently I’d barely moved in. She quotes me as saying I said I had high hopes for “making new friends soon” and for “starting a blog with stories, photos and videos of local goings on.” Done and done!
Horror was expressed by several interviewees at the notion of moving to a retirement community. Even if they’re beautiful and in Florida, says Tom White.

I followed up by email with Beth this week to ask if anyone had commented to her about Greenbelt, having read her book or heard her talk about it. Indeed folks at book readings have told her they’re “very interested in checking out Greenbelt, as a result of hearing about the services and the progressive community.” She steers them to the city’s website. Now do we think that’s the best place to convey the essence of Greenbelt? (I think not and will boldly suggest she also recommend this blog and Greenbelt’s Youtube channel.)

Asked if there’s anything else she’d like to tell us about Greenbelt besides what’s in the book, Beth wrote:

What really stands out about Greenbelt are the creative ways that Christal Batey and others have come up with to provide a wide array of services for a very low price. An example that always impresses people is how Christal reached out to med schools and nursing schools to initiate a geriatric rotation that includes students paying housecalls on elders in Greenbelt to provide them with basic services, such as blood pressure or blood sugar monitoring.
Another example that I find impressive is the Greenbelt Intergenerational Volunteer Exchange Service–the volunteer job bank. You have nearly 300 people, most of them older themselves, giving hours of their time to assist folks in your community. These sorts of grassroots innovations can truly change how our society views both the challenges and the opportunities of an aging population.

Oh, and she’s heard from Greenbelters who, like me, were surprised to find out from her book just how much this city does for seniors. She concludes, ” Greenbelt should not be shy about tooting its own horn and letting folks know all the good work it’s doing.”

Beth to Speak in Greenbelt?

Beth’s eager to come, so I’ve recommended her to the Museum and look forward to a lively discussion when/if it happens.