Ecumen Centennial House Treats Apple Valley Police Officers

Ecumen Centennial House hosted several police officers and detectives from the Apple Valley Police Department this week for “Coffee with a Cop.”

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“You Look Good for Your Age” and Other Everyday Ageist Expressions To Avoid

Our daily interactions are full of casual jokes, clichés, and compliments that are blatantly ageist but culturally acceptable. 

“Casual ageism” is rampant and not as harmless as it seems. Katy Read, writing in the Star Tribune, takes a comprehensive look at those everyday ageist things we unwittingly say and do – and offers advice from experts on what we can do about the problem.

Accompanying the article are 12 examples of everyday ageism that are so common — and in many cases, well-meaning — that you might not even think much about them, according to Sally Brown of the Vital Aging Network:

  • Birthday parties featuring black balloons and crepe paper, cards that make fun of getting old, joke gifts about aging.
  • "Anti-aging" products and services.
  • Praising older people by comparing them to younger ones: "You look good for [your age]," "You're young at heart" or "Inside, I feel 30 years younger."
  • "You're still... [dancing, driving, going to the gym, wearing a particular style]" or "You're too old to do those things."
  • Describing minor forgetfulness as a "senior moment."
  • Doctors, waiters and others directing comments about an older person at a younger companion or child of the older person.
  • Health care and social-service providers who patronize older people, or who undertreat, overtreat or overmedicate them.
  • Patronizing language (sweetie, dear, honey, he's so sweet, isn't she cute). Thinking older people doing things associated with younger people (mild cursing, having or referring to sex) is adorable or surprising.
  • Name-calling: geezer, gramps, old fart, dirty old man, little old lady, old bag, biddy, old fogey.
  • Lying about your age for fear of negative perceptions, or staying "39" year after year.
  • Assuming that young people are computer geniuses and older people are technologically inept.
  • Discussions of the "silver tsunami" that blame older people for economic and social challenges.

Abiitan Mill City Featured on KSTP-TV's Twin Cities Live

Take a tour of Abiitan Mill City with KSTP-TV Reporter Emily Engberg.

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Zvago Glen Lake Wins Top Real Estate Development Honor

Zvago Glen Lake Cooperative, a new senior housing community on the north shore of Glen Lake in Minnetonka, has won an Award of Excellence from the Minnesota Chapter of the Commercial Real Estate Development Association.

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An Appreciation of Ecumen’s Dedicated Chaplains

October is Clergy Appreciation Month, and Ecumen wants our chaplains to know how highly we value the work they do.

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Ecumen Seasons at Apple Valley Raises Over $1,800 at Lights of Honor Event

Ecumen Seasons at Apple Valley recently raised more than $1,800 to benefit residents at its 2017 Lights of Honor ceremony.

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Diversity & Inclusion Event: The Affordable Housing Crisis Especially Affects Seniors

A rapidly diminishing supply of affordable housing is a critical issue, especially for seniors, two housing advocates told a group of Ecumen employees this week.

Ruth Paradise from Jewish Community Action and Christine Hart from the Community Action Partnership of Hennepin County conducted a Sept. 27, 2017, learning event sponsored by Ecumen’s Diversity and Inclusion Council, a group of employees chartered to advance Ecumen’s diversity and inclusion goals.

Addressing issues of economic diversity, they gave an inside perspective on affordable housing, which is falling victim to market forces as developers pursue projects that convert affordable rental apartment buildings to attract higher income renters. In the process, lower income people, including seniors, often get turned out of buildings they have lived in for years.

“We are in a housing crisis,” Hart said. “And no one says that lightly.”

Paradise explained that the majority of affordable housing operates without government subsidies and is referred to as Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH). These privately owned multifamily rental properties provide housing at rates affordable to low- and moderate-income households.

Currently, the demand for rental apartments at all income levels is extremely high and growing, and many NOAH properties are being converted by developers to market-rate, luxury units and displacing lower income families. When affordable housing is “upscaled” the economic diversity of communities is threatened, Paradise and Hart explained, since there is no place for people in lower income service jobs to live. 

Additionally, anytime there are attempts to preserve or create affordable housing, neighbors in surrounding areas often oppose the efforts. “We call this the NIMBY effect – Not In My Back Yard,” Paradise said.

While people of all ages are affected, seniors in particular face challenges finding affordable housing. The number of seniors is growing rapidly while the affordable housing stock is diminishing.  Since many seniors live on Social Security, this is an especially concerning issue.

Hart and Paradise advocate for those impacted by the housing shortage and work to help them stay in their current homes or find new housing, especially when buildings flip from affordable to higher rents.


Ecumen Team Raises Over $1,200 in Twin Cities Marathon 5K Event

The first-ever Ecumen 5K team raised over $1,200 for the Benevolence Fund in Medtronic’s Twin Cities in Motion Marathon.

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Ecumen Lights of Honor Community Celebrations: Honor, Remember, Celebrate

Honor lights are being lit across Minnesota as Ecumen communities host their annual "Lights of Honor" celebrations.

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Ecumen CEO Kathryn Roberts Named Among Top “Influencers in Aging”

Ecumen President and CEO Kathryn Roberts has been named as one of the 2017 “Influencers in Aging” by Next Avenue, a PBS digital publication dedicated to covering issues for people 50 and older.

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