Bridge Meadows is a privately funded nonprofit that has established a multigenerational community in Portland, Oakland. Here, in a cluster of townhomes and apartments, low-income elders and adults have adopted or are in the process of adopting children in foster care through an organization that provides on-site services and creates a support network for all. The elders -- the oldest member of the community is 92 -- help neighbors in myriad ways, from providing after-school tutoring to teaching cooking classes to playing with the children to child care. And the children they support in turn give them what amounts to an extended family and outlet from isolation. By supporting foster children, who tend to face learning and behavioral challenges, while giving often-single elders connection to others, at Bridge Meadows, folks live in compassion and community, and "the proverbial village cares for everyone."
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