Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Negotiating Informal And Formal Supportive Services Among Older Adults: An Analysis Of A Caring Culture At Hope Meadows, Derek Ruszkowski

Stevenson Center for Community and Economic Development—Student Research

This case study examines discourses of living and volunteering at an intentional and intergenerational neighborhood in Rantoul, IL managed by a non-profit called Hope Meadows. This is accomplished through participant and non-participant observations and nine resident interviews. The research contributes to literature on community-level efforts serving to strengthen supportive relationships among neighbors by examining a population that is engaged in providing services to their fellow community residents and the non-profit organization in exchange for below-market rent. Additionally, the outcome contributes to literature on aging-in-place, sustaining volunteer programs dependent on committed residents, and challenges of an increasingly disproportionate aging population. Due …