The American Society on Aging (ASA) is a membership-based organization that focuses on cultivating leadership, advancing knowledge, and strengthening skills of those who work with older adults. It was Givens Estates’ great honor to be asked to present at an upcoming virtual conference for the ASA.

Ed Hillman, Director of Ministries, and Betsy Finger, Life Enrichment Assistant Director for Social Services, will present a best practice model that communities working with older adults can apply to their own settings. Several years ago, residents and staff at Givens Estates organized presentations and discussions on themes related to inclusion and respecting differences. Topics included: differences in abilities in older adults, race and culture, sexual orientation, political views, and religious differences. These topics were presented by community leaders and discussions occurred among residents with discussion facilitators. This series generated robust participation and was so well received that Givens Estates duplicated the series in 2020.

Hillman and Finger were asked by the ASA to present this series, titled “Respecting Differences”, as a best practice model. Next month, they will teach other ASA members how to organize such a series, share learnings from the Givens Estates experience, provide recommendations for facilitating such a series, and suggest guidelines on how to implement this type of series in settings serving older adults.

This topic remains vitally important and timely in our current climate. This presentation will encourage and teach ways to have productive and meaningful dialogue and to increase the practice of respecting differences in a community.

If you would like to learn more about the ways Givens Estates is proactively cultivating an inclusive community, please drop us a note here or call us at (828) 274-4800.