“Truthfully, it’s something I’ve been thinking about for many years,” Annenberg said.
Aubrey got a taste of the wide range of activities offered at GenSpace, visiting Zumba, drumming, knitting, and painting classes to see the many different ways that members can explore while connecting with others and staying active.
“This place is phenomenal and they need more of them in LA and they need more around the country,” GenSpace member Ann Batcheller said.
Research continues to show the dire health consequences of loneliness and isolation on older adults, contributing to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s, stroke, and early death. GenSpace serves as a successful example of a center offering community, connection, learning, and movement to improve the overall health and well-being of its members.
“Living in Los Angeles, a city that fetishizes youth, I knew that I was going to do something to specialize in an older generation that would be interested in coming together like this,” she said.
The reporter also highlighted Annenberg’s passion for creating community spaces, recognizing the Annenberg Community Beach House in Santa Monica, The Wallis Center for Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, PetSpace in Playa Vista, and the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing nearing completion in Agoura Hills. All places are designed to cultivate community and bring people together, but Annenberg emphasizes the importance of focusing on the older adult population.
“They’re often in isolated circumstances, they’re discarded by society so to speak, retired from professions – that was something I wanted to remedy in my way so that isolation would turn to inclusion,” she said. “I feel very proud, proud that I was able to do this.”
Citing the design of the space as well as the research-backed programming developed in consultation with the Stanford Center on Longevity, the reporter reiterates that aging looks different at GenSpace.
“This place is exciting, and positive, and energetic so it’s more like summer camp for people who don’t have to work anymore,” Batcheller said.
GenSpace partners with UCLA and USC to offer internships with physical therapy graduate students who provide practical advice to support older adults’ mobility. Nearby elementary schools visit weekly and students join the older adults for classes while high school students provide tech support in GenSpace’s tech lab, reinforcing the mutually beneficial impact of intergenerational relationships.
Given GenSpace’s success in the community, Aubrey asked Annenberg if GenSpace could be replicated in other places.
“It takes leadership, it takes organization, it takes a team to do it. And if someone has the passion for this it could be replicated, I’d love to think so. I’d love to see one on every block.”
Watch the piece on CBS Sunday Morning here.
