Series Intro
Age-Friendly Stockton:
A 3-Part Series on Honoring Our Elders
What does it mean for a city to truly support its elders? Is it enough to build accessible sidewalks and run senior centers? Or must we go deeper, creating spaces where wisdom is honored, culture is preserved, and generations are woven together?
Stockton, California, has been called "America's most unhappy city." But this label misses something crucial: our city is home to elders who hold decades of knowledge, tradition, and resilience. The question isn't whether we have resources. It's whether we're using them to build the right kind of community.
This three-part series reimagines what "age-friendly" means through an Afrocentric lens that honors cultural continuity, spiritual belonging, and intergenerational connection. We'll explore where Stockton stands today, what's working, what's broken, and, most importantly, what we can do about it.
What You'll Find in This Series:
Part 1: Beyond Ramps and Buses: What Stockton's Elders Really Need
We reframe the concept of "age-friendly" beyond physical accessibility to include cultural infrastructure, spiritual wellness, and the sacred role of elders as wisdom-keepers. This post lays the theoretical foundation using Afrocentric psychology and introduces Stockton's context.
Part 2: Mapping the Village: Where Stockton Supports Elders (and Where We're Failing)
An honest assessment of Stockton across five age-friendly dimensions: social participation, respect, housing, transportation, and civic engagement. We examine what's working, what's not, and why systems-level change matters.
Part 3: Two Ways Forward: Solutions for an Age-Friendly Stockton
Concrete solutions for Cultural Continuity Spaces and Intergenerational Support Networks, grounded in evidence and designed for Stockton's reality.
Who This Series Is For:
Stockton residents who care about their elders and community
City planners, policymakers, and community organizers
Faith leaders, educators, and healthcare professionals
Anyone interested in culturally grounded approaches to aging and wellness
Whether you read all three posts or just the one that speaks to you, our hope is that you'll leave with a deeper understanding of what elders need, and what role you can play in creating change.
The series is designed to be read in order, but each post also stands alone. Jump in wherever makes sense for you.
Most importantly: this isn't just information. It's an invitation to act.
Let's rebuild the village together.
— This series was created for a Positive Aging course, but the ideas, proposals, and action plans are real. Stockton's elders are real. The need is real. And so is the possibility for transformation.
BLOG POST 1
Beyond Ramps & Buses:
What Stockton's Elders Really Need
Reframing age-friendly through culture and spirit
Introduction to Part 1
This is the first post in our three-part series on creating an age-friendly Stockton.
Before we can solve problems, we must understand them deeply. And before we can understand Stockton's challenges with elder wellness, we must challenge the very definition of what "age-friendly" means.
In this post, we'll:
Expand the typical definition of "age-friendly" to include culture and spirit
Introduce key concepts from Afrocentric psychology (Myers' Optimal Theory and Nobles' Eldership)
Explain why Stockton, despite its diversity, struggles with elder disconnection
Set the foundation for the assessment (Part 2) and solutions (Part 3) that follow
This isn't just theory. It's the lens through which everything else makes sense. If we only focus on ramps and buses, we'll miss what elders truly need: to be seen, honored, and integrated into the fabric of community life.
Ready? Let's reimagine age-friendly.
Walk through South Stockton on a Sunday morning. You'll see elders sitting on porches, watching the neighborhood, guardians who've held these blocks together for decades. But are we holding them?
Stockton has been called "America's most unhappy city." That label doesn't capture the whole truth. What it reveals is a spiritual disconnection, especially for our Black elders whose wisdom is rarely centered in how we plan this city.
Welcome to our three-part series on reimagining what it means for Stockton to truly support its elders. This isn't just about wheelchair ramps and senior discounts. It's about something deeper: restoring the sacred role of elders as living libraries whose wisdom sustains our community.
Whether you're a longtime resident, a city planner, or someone who cares about justice, this conversation is for you.
What Does "Age-Friendly" Really Mean?
The World Health Organization (2021) defines an age-friendly environment
as one that supports active aging through accessible housing, transportation, and health services.
That's a start. But it's not enough.
From an Afrocentric and holistic lens, this framework must expand to include cultural continuity, spiritual belonging, and communal interdependence. Aging is not only biological, it is spiritual, ecological, and communal.
"To be truly well is to be whole."
— Linda James Myers, Optimal Psychology
Harmony Over Happiness: An Afrocentric View
In African-centered psychology, well-being isn't measured by individual happiness or productivity. It's measured by harmony: the degree to which we live in alignment with Maat, the natural and moral order of existence (Myers, 1988).
Linda James Myers teaches us that Optimal Psychology arises from an Afrocentric worldview that understands reality as both spiritual and material, unified by divine consciousness (Myers, 1988). In this worldview:
Self-knowledge is the basis of all knowledge
Human fulfillment comes from recognizing our oneness with others and nature
An age-friendly environment nurtures connection rather than isolation, spirit rather than status, purpose rather than productivity
This isn't abstract philosophy. It's a call to action to honor our elders as the living libraries they are.
The Sacred Role of Eldership
Wade W. Nobles, a leader in African psychology, describes Eldership as the stage in which elders become "guardians of cultural integrity" and "repositories of both the spiritual essence and practice of the community" (Nobles, 2009, p. 220).
In Yoruba tradition, Iya Agba (senior mother) and Baba Agba (senior father) serve as protectors of balance and teachers of humanity.
Eldership is not merely about reaching old age. It is the sacred role of guiding collective consciousness and transmitting ancestral wisdom to ensure the spiritual continuity of the people (Nobles, 2009).
Let that sit for a moment. When was the last time Stockton's city planning treated elders this way?
Why This Matters for Stockton
Stockton is home to approximately 320,000 residents. About 13% are over age 65, and 11.6% of the population is African American (Neilsberg, 2025; U.S. Census Bureau, 2024).
We are one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the United States. Yet we've often been labeled "America's most unhappy city."
These statistics reveal more than economic struggle. They point to a spiritual and social disconnection, particularly among older Black residents whose histories and traditions are rarely centered in community planning or wellness initiatives.
When communities are interdependent, emotionally attuned, and grounded in shared meaning, they foster resilience across generations.
Bowen Family Systems Theory helps us understand this: when a community's emotional system is anxious or fragmented, individuals within it experience stress, isolation, and identity loss (Keller & Noone, 2020).
Conversely, when we restore what Myers (1988) calls holistic consciousness, the understanding that healing must occur at every level (personal, familial, cultural, and ecological), we create the conditions for true wellness.
Questions We Must Ask
To build an environment that truly supports healthy aging, we must ask more than whether the city's sidewalks are accessible.
We must ask whether the city's culture is accessible.
Can Stockton's elders see themselves reflected in its murals, parks, and social programs? Do spaces exist for intergenerational storytelling, spiritual practice, and community reciprocity? Are elders honored as living libraries, or treated as problems to be managed?
When we design environments that affirm ancestral memory, we move closer to what Nobles (2009) calls the wisdom of Eldership. This represents a balance between the visible and invisible worlds, sustained by justice, compassion, and collective care.
The Foundation We're Building
An age-friendly Stockton begins with cultural and spiritual infrastructure, places where elders are honored as living libraries and communities are shaped by the sacred principle of oneness.
As Myers (1988) teaches, "To be truly well is to be whole" (p. 2). Wholeness is not achieved through policy alone, but through a return to harmony, where every elder, every family, and every child recognizes themselves as part of the same divine network of life.
In our next post, we'll map where Stockton currently stands, the strengths we can build on and the systems that need transformation.
What You Can Do:
Reflect: Who are the elders in your life who hold wisdom this city needs?
Share this post with someone working in community health or city planning
Stay tuned for Post 2: "Mapping the Village"
References
Keller, M. N., & Noone, R. J. (2020). Handbook of Bowen family systems theory and research methods: A systems model for family research. Routledge.
Myers, L. J. (1988). Understanding an Afrocentric world view: Introduction to an optimal psychology. Kendall/Hunt.
Neilsberg. (2025). Stockton, California population 2025. https://www.neilsberg.com/insights/stockton-california-population-by-year/
Nobles, W. W. (2009). Elders. In M. K. Asante & A. Mazama (Eds.), Encyclopedia of African religion (pp. 220–224). SAGE Publications.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2024). QuickFacts: Stockton city, California. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/stocktoncitycalifornia
World Health Organization. (2021). Global age-friendly cities: A guide. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241547307
BLOG POST 2
Mapping the Village
Where Stockton Supports Elders
(and Where We're Failing)
An honest assessment of our city
Introduction to Part 2
Welcome to the second post in our series on creating an age-friendly Stockton.
In Part 1, we reimagined what "age-friendly" means, expanding beyond accessible infrastructure to include cultural continuity, spiritual belonging, and the sacred role of elders as living libraries and wisdom-keepers. We introduced Afrocentric frameworks that help us see elders not as problems to manage, but as guardians of community balance.
Now, in Part 2, it's time to get specific. How does Stockton actually measure up? Where are we succeeding? Where are we falling short? And what do these gaps reveal about our values as a city?
In this post, we'll assess Stockton across five key age-friendly domains:
Social Participation: Are elders actively engaged in community life?
Respect and Social Inclusion: Are their contributions valued?
Housing Stability: Can elders age in place?
Transportation: Can they move freely in the city?
Civic Participation: Do elders shape policy and planning?
This isn't about pointing fingers. It's about honest evaluation, understanding our starting point so we can chart a path forward.
By the end of this post, you'll see Stockton's challenges with fresh eyes. And you'll be ready for Part 3, where we'll explore concrete solutions to rebuild the village.
Let's map where we are…
In every city, there is a rhythm beneath the noise, a spiritual pulse that reflects how its people live, connect, and care for one another.
In Stockton, California, that rhythm tells a story of both beauty and imbalance.
This is the second post in our series on age-friendly environments. In Part 1, we explored what "age-friendly" means from an Afrocentric perspective. It's not just accessible buildings, but cultural infrastructure that honors elders as living libraries and sacred teachers.
Now it's time to get specific. Where does Stockton shine? Where are we falling short? And what would it look like to rebuild the village?
The Spiritual Geography of Stockton
Stockton is home to more than 320,000 residents, with roughly 13% aged 65 or older and an African American population of about 11.6% (Neilsberg, 2025; U.S. Census Bureau, 2024).
We are one of the most diverse cities in the United States. Yet we have long ranked among the nation's least "happy" cities, not because of our people, but because of chronic underinvestment in their shared well-being.
"When communities lose alignment with Maat, fragmentation replaces harmony, and individuals begin to experience disconnection as suffering."
— Linda James Myers
From an Afrocentric psychological perspective, imbalance is not merely social or economic, it is spiritual (Myers, 1988).
Optimal Psychology teaches that wholeness depends on recognizing the interdependence of all systems: self, family, community, and cosmos. In Stockton, this principle invites us to ask: How are our systems functioning as a family?
Let's assess five key areas using the World Health Organization's age-friendly framework, and see how Stockton measures up.
1. Social Participation: Are Elders at the Table?
What the WHO Says: One of the first indicators of an age-friendly environment is whether elders are actively engaged in community life (World Health Organization, 2021).
Where Stockton Stands:
Stockton has a growing network of neighborhood centers, but many are underfunded or lack culturally relevant programming. For Black elders in particular, many of whom face the cumulative effects of systemic racism and intergenerational poverty, these spaces often don't reflect their histories or traditions.
What We've Lost:
There's a story many Stockton residents remember. Outside a Chinese restaurant, Asian elders would gather in the parking lot, setting up folding tables to play dominoes and cards. Over time, something beautiful happened: African American and Latinx elders joined in. The games became a cultural bridge. Language barriers dissolved over the click of dominoes. Laughter crossed generations and ethnicities. Community was born there, organic, unplanned, powerful.
Then the city cited the restaurant. Police began patrolling the parking lot. The tables disappeared. The elders scattered.
What the city saw as a code violation, the community experienced as cultural erasure. What officials dismissed as loitering, elders knew as belonging.
This is what happens when we don't recognize elder-created spaces as valuable infrastructure. When we police connection instead of supporting it.
The Deeper Issue:
Wade Nobles reminds us that Elders are not passive recipients of care. They are spiritual protectors of community balance, "guardians of culture, traditions, and history" (Nobles, 2009, p. 221). They are living libraries whose knowledge sustains entire communities.
When elders are sidelined from civic life, or worse, when their organic gathering spaces are dismantled, the community loses access to its collective wisdom.
The Question:
Are our programs designed with elders, or merely for them? And more importantly: can we recognize and protect the spaces elders create for themselves, even when they don't look like what we expect?
2. Respect and Social Inclusion: Who Gets to Be Visible?
What the WHO Says: Elders should be respected and included in public life, with their contributions acknowledged and valued.
Where Stockton Stands:
Stockton's public narrative often highlights youth innovation and overlooks the contributions of its elders, particularly Black and Brown seniors who have held neighborhoods together for decades.
"I am because we are."
— Ubuntu philosophy, echoed in Myers' Optimal Psychology
Respect is foundational to the Afrocentric worldview. Myers (2018) teaches that the essence of psychological health is rooted in mutual recognition, the understanding that our well-being is interdependent.
The Systemic Cost:
In Bowen Family Systems Theory, this neglect would be viewed as a breakdown of multigenerational transmission, a disruption in the flow of values, stories, and emotional resilience between generations (Keller & Noone, 2020). When we don't honor elders as living libraries, we lose the very knowledge that could guide younger generations.
What Restoration Looks Like:
Reweaving these intergenerational ties through storytelling programs, church partnerships, and youth-elder mentorship rooted in cultural practice.
3. Housing Stability: Can Elders Age in Place?
What the WHO Says: Stable, affordable, and safe housing is central to healthy aging.
Where Stockton Stands:
Stockton's median household income is approximately $76,851, but about 15.4% of residents live below the poverty line. Black households earn around $59,000 on average (DataUSA, 2024; Neilsberg, 2025).
Rising rents and limited senior housing options leave many older adults, especially women and elders of color, at risk of displacement.
The Spiritual Cost:
From an Afrocentric lens, displacement is not only a loss of shelter but a spiritual dislocation, a severing from the land, memories, and communal energy that sustain identity.
Picture Mrs. Johnson, who's lived on her block for 40 years. She knows every neighbor, every tree. The church where she worships is two blocks away. The corner store owner calls her "Auntie."
Now imagine her forced to move across town because she can't afford rent. That's not just a housing crisis. It's a rupture of belonging and a loss of a living library whose presence has held the block together.
What's Needed:
A culturally attuned age-friendly plan would treat housing as both a social and ancestral right, ensuring that elders can age in place near familiar landmarks, spiritual centers, and kin networks.
4. Transportation: Can Elders Move Freely?
What the WHO Says: Accessible mobility is essential for preventing isolation and maintaining social connections.
Where Stockton Stands:
Stockton's bus system covers the city but offers limited weekend and evening service. For elders who no longer drive, this can result in social isolation.
The Systemic Impact:
In Bowen's systems theory, isolation triggers anxiety across the entire system. The emotional cutoff between individuals mirrors the cutoff between neighborhoods and institutions (Keller & Noone, 2020).
When Grandma can't get to church on Sunday, it's not just her who suffers, it's the young mother who needs her wisdom, the children who need her stories, the choir that needs her voice.
What Would Help:
Reinvesting in accessible transit, including shuttle programs connecting elder centers, churches, and cultural events, would help bridge these emotional and physical divides.
5. Civic Participation: Are Elders Shaping Policy?
What the WHO Says: A thriving community values the continued contributions of its elders in civic life and governance.
Where Stockton Stands:
Our city councils and planning boards rarely include formal input from elders, especially from diverse cultural communities.
What We're Missing:
In many African spiritual systems, elders remain central to governance and conflict resolution. As Nobles (2009) writes, "The judgments and decisions of Elders are always consistent with their community's cultural integrity and directed toward truth and justice" (p. 222).
Imagine a city planning meeting where:
An elder advisory council reviews every major development project
Black grandmothers weigh in on public safety strategies
Longtime residents help design new parks and community spaces
This wouldn't just improve cultural competence. It would restore the sacred balance between experience and innovation.
Where the System Frays: But Also Where Hope Lives
Despite systemic challenges, Stockton has pockets of resistance and resilience that show what's possible.
What's Working:
Organizations like Dome of Home are already doing intergenerational programming, proving the model works in Stockton. At University of the Pacific, Black Unity hangouts bring together community members across generations, creating spaces where students and elders connect. The Divine 9 sororities and fraternities, with members ranging from their 20s to over 100, demonstrate sustained intergenerational commitment through decades of community service.
These examples show that Stockton doesn't lack capacity for intergenerational connection. We lack systemic support for what already emerges organically.
What's Broken:
Despite these bright spots, we still face:
Chronic underinvestment in Black and Brown neighborhoods
Economic inequality that follows racial lines
Legacy of redlining that fractured communities
Loss of cultural spaces where elders once gathered, including the dismantling of organic elder gathering spots like the parking lot domino games that bridged Asian, Black, and Latinx communities
Code enforcement that prioritizes aesthetics over community connection
The result, in Myers' (1988) terms, is sub-optimal functioning: a system guided by materialism and scarcity rather than harmony and abundance.
When city officials cite restaurants for allowing elders to gather, when police patrol parking lots to disperse card games, when we treat elder congregation as a problem rather than recognizing these living libraries as precious resources, we reveal our values. We show that we prioritize order over connection, property over people, control over culture.
Yet organizations like Dome of Home, UOP's Black Unity, and the Divine 9 show another way is possible.
Bowen's model suggests that the stress of systemic conditions amplifies emotional reactivity, eroding communication and trust between generations (Keller & Noone, 2020).
But every breakdown invites the potential for healing.
When viewed through the lens of Optimal Psychology, Stockton's struggles can be seen as spiritual calls to return to balance, to restore the communal "village" that once grounded its people.
The Path Forward
An age-friendly Stockton is not achieved through infrastructure alone but through cultural renewal. It requires the integration of Myers' optimal principles, Nobles' sacred understanding of Eldership, and Bowen's systemic insight into policy and practice. By embracing cultural competence as a moral and spiritual imperative, Stockton can transform its "unhappiest city" narrative into one of collective flourishing.
The truth is, Stockton's elders have always known how to build community. They've shown us, in parking lots turned into multicultural gathering spaces, in churches that sustained neighborhoods through hard times, in the quiet ways they've held families and blocks together for decades.
The question isn't whether elders can create spaces of belonging. They already have. The question is whether the city will recognize, protect, and support what they build, or continue to dismantle it in the name of codes and order.
In truth, the city already holds the seeds of transformation, in the elders who remember, in the youth who listen, and in the spaces where they meet. To build an age-friendly environment is to rebuild the village, one rooted in oneness, justice, and love.
In our final post, we'll explore two concrete proposals for how to make this vision real.
What You Can Do:
Look around your neighborhood: Where do you see elders? Where don't you?
Attend a city council meeting and ask: "How are elders from diverse communities included in decision-making?"
Share this post and tag someone working in local government
Coming Next: Post 3 "Two Ways Forward: Solutions for an Age-Friendly Stockton"
References
DataUSA. (2024). Stockton, CA. https://datausa.io/profile/geo/stockton-ca
Keller, M. N., & Noone, R. J. (2020). Handbook of Bowen family systems theory and research methods: A systems model for family research. Routledge.
Myers, L. J. (1988). Understanding an Afrocentric world view: Introduction to an optimal psychology. Kendall/Hunt.
Myers, L. J., Speight, S. L., Highlen, P. S., Cox, C. I., Reynolds, A. L., Adams, E. M., & Hanley, C. P. (2018). Optimal theory's contributions to understanding and surmounting global challenges to humanity. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 58(6), 732–759. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167818762447
Neilsberg. (2025). Stockton, California population 2025. https://www.neilsberg.com/insights/stockton-california-population-by-year/
Nobles, W. W. (2009). Elders. In M. K. Asante & A. Mazama (Eds.), Encyclopedia of African religion (pp. 220–224). SAGE Publications.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2024). QuickFacts: Stockton city, California. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/stocktoncitycalifornia
World Health Organization. (2021). Global age-friendly cities: A guide. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241547307
Blog Post 3
Two Ways Forward
Solutions for an Age-Friendly Stockton, Practical paths to honoring our elders
Welcome to the final post in our series on creating an age-friendly Stockton.
Catch up on the series:
Part 1: We reimagined "age-friendly" through an Afrocentric lens, moving beyond ramps and buses to cultural continuity and spiritual belonging, honoring elders as living libraries
Part 2: We assessed Stockton honestly, seeing both strengths and the gaps in how we support elder wellness
Now it's time to talk about solutions.
Based on what we've learned about Stockton's needs and what works in similar communities, this post presents two possible solutions that could enhance our age-friendly environment. These aren't the only answers, but they're grounded in evidence and designed for Stockton's reality.
Let's explore what we could do.
Remember that parking lot outside the Chinese restaurant? Where Asian elders played dominoes and cards, and over time African American and Latinx elders joined in? Where games became a cultural bridge and community was born?
The city cited the restaurant and dismantled it all.
That loss teaches us something important: Elders know how to create community. Our job isn't to do it for them. It's to create conditions where these living libraries can flourish and to protect the spaces they create when they emerge naturally.
Here are two solutions that could help Stockton do exactly that.
What We Know Works
Before we dive into solutions, let's ground ourselves in evidence.
Programs pairing elders with youth have demonstrated real results across the country. Experience Corps, operating in 22 cities, shows that older volunteers gain cognitive and physical benefits while children's reading scores improve (Carlson et al., 2008; Fried et al., 2004). In Los Angeles, the Koreatown Storytelling Project preserves immigrant elder stories through youth journalism (ASA Generations, 2024). ONEgeneration in California operates shared sites where elders and children interact daily with mutual benefit (ASA Generations, 2024).
Research confirms: well-designed intergenerational programs improve elder mental health, reduce isolation, enhance cross-generational attitudes, and benefit youth development (George et al., 2021; Pinazo-Hernandis & Kaplan, 2024).
Keys to success include:
Reciprocal activities (both generations give and receive)
Consistent contact over time
Cultural relevance
Meaningful engagement, not token interaction
Stockton can learn from these models. Here are two solutions tailored to our city's needs, resources, and cultural diversity.
Solution One: Establish Cultural Continuity Spaces
The Problem: Stockton has senior centers, but few spaces where elders are honored as cultural teachers, wisdom-keepers, and living libraries. We have diverse elder populations with rich traditions, but no formal infrastructure for intergenerational cultural transmission.
The Solution: Create Cultural Continuity Spaces, places where elders lead cultural programming and youth learn directly from these living libraries.
What This Would Look Like
These wouldn't be new buildings. They'd be partnerships with existing institutions: churches, community centers, libraries that dedicate space and time to elder-led cultural programs.
In practice, a Cultural Continuity Space might host:
Weekly Oral History Sessions: Youth trained in documentation interview elders about Stockton's history, migration stories, cultural traditions. These living libraries become archived for the community.
Cultural Arts Workshops: Elders teach traditional cooking, textile arts, music, gardening, herbalism. Knowledge that might otherwise be lost is transmitted directly.
Intergenerational Celebrations: Seasonal gatherings, cultural festivals, ancestor remembrance ceremonies where traditions are practiced, not just observed.
Story Circles: Regular gatherings where elders share life experiences and youth learn from their wisdom about navigating challenges, maintaining values, building resilience.
Mentorship Programs: Ongoing relationships between elders and youth, not just one-time visits.
Why This Solution Fits Stockton
It builds on existing assets. Many Stockton churches have fellowship halls sitting empty during weekdays. Community centers exist but need culturally specific programming. This solution doesn't require new construction, just new partnerships.
We already have models to learn from. Organizations like Dome of Home already run intergenerational programming in Stockton. At University of the Pacific, Black Unity hangouts demonstrate how intergenerational connection happens naturally when space is created. These aren't hypotheticals, they're proof of concept.
It honors Stockton's diversity. With Asian, Black, Latinx, Pacific Islander, and immigrant elder populations across neighborhoods like Miracle Mile, Lincoln Village, and South Stockton, Cultural Continuity Spaces could celebrate multiple traditions while creating common ground.
It centers elders as leaders, not recipients. As Nobles (2009) teaches, elders are "guardians of cultural integrity" whose wisdom sustains community balance (p. 220). This solution positions them accordingly, just as the Divine 9 sororities and fraternities have long done, with members from their 20s to over 100 years old actively engaged in community leadership. These living libraries remain active contributors throughout their entire lives.
It addresses real gaps identified in Part 2: lack of culturally relevant programming, limited elder participation in community life, loss of cultural knowledge across generations.
Connection to Theory
This solution reflects Myers' (2018) Optimal Psychology. Healing comes through "returning to wholeness." When elders and youth engage in cultural work together, they become what Nobles (2009) calls "the bridge between the visible and invisible worlds," connecting past, present, and future (p. 223). These living libraries hold knowledge that links generations.
Cultural Continuity Spaces say: Your traditions matter. Your wisdom is needed. Your role as a living library is sacred.
Solution Two: Build an Intergenerational Support Network
The Problem: Stockton has schools needing service-learning opportunities, senior centers with isolated elders who are living libraries, churches with unused space, and healthcare systems treating elder isolation. These operate separately when they could coordinate.
The Solution: Create an Intergenerational Support Network that connects existing institutions into a city-wide web of elder-youth relationships.
What This Would Look Like
Rather than a new program, this is a coordination strategy. It helps existing organizations work together to reduce elder isolation and build intergenerational connection.
The network would facilitate:
School-Senior Center Partnerships: Students fulfill service hours through ongoing elder mentorship. They're not performing for elders but learning from these living libraries. Weekly visits create sustained relationships.
Faith-Based Elder Care: Churches coordinate to provide transportation to services, health screenings in trusted spaces, phone trees for daily check-ins, and "elder ambassadors" who visit isolated members.
Library-Led Programming: Public libraries host intergenerational storytelling, elder-taught classes, tech tutoring where generations teach each other.
Community Care Training: Volunteers learn culturally grounded approaches to elder care, honoring spiritual practices, dietary traditions, language needs, to complement professional services.
Coordinated Transportation: Schools, churches, and senior centers share resources to ensure elders can get to programs, appointments, and cultural events.
Why This Solution Fits Stockton
It's financially realistic. This doesn't require major funding, just coordination. Schools already need service learning. Churches already have space. Senior centers already exist. Connecting them is the innovation.
We have partners ready to engage. University of the Pacific already hosts intergenerational Black Unity hangouts, imagine expanding that model citywide. Dome of Home's existing intergenerational programming could become a node in a larger network. The Divine 9 Greek organizations, with members spanning 80+ years in age, already have infrastructure for intergenerational community work. These organizations don't need to be created, they need to be connected and supported.
It creates systemic change. As Bowen Family Systems Theory teaches, communities are emotional systems. When we strengthen connections at one point, the whole system benefits (Keller & Noone, 2020). This solution weaves a stronger web that protects our living libraries.
It addresses isolation directly. Part 2 identified transportation barriers and social isolation as major issues. This solution tackles both through coordinated effort across neighborhoods from Miracle Mile to South Stockton.
It's scalable. Start with existing partners (Dome of Home, UOP, a Divine 9 chapter, two churches, one school), demonstrate impact, then expand citywide.
Connection to Theory
This solution embodies the Afrocentric principle that "we are because of others" (Myers, 1988). It restores what Bowen calls emotional interdependence, the natural flow of care across a system. When institutions coordinate around elder wellness and recognize elders as living libraries, isolation becomes harder to sustain.
Why These Solutions Matter Beyond Culture
Here's a practical reality: Social isolation costs Medicare $6.7 billion annually nationwide (Flowers et al., 2017). Isolated elders have $1,644 higher annual healthcare costs and 31% greater risk of death, despite higher spending (Shaw et al., 2017).
What does this mean for Stockton specifically?
With approximately 41,600 Stockton residents over 65 (13% of 320,000), and national data showing about 14% of elders experience social isolation, that's roughly 5,800 isolated elders in Stockton. At $1,644 in additional annual healthcare costs per isolated elder, Stockton-area Medicare could be spending an extra $9.5 million annually on preventable isolation-related healthcare (Shaw et al., 2017).
Why? Isolated seniors are hospitalized more frequently and stay longer. They're 29% more likely to require nursing facility care. They arrive sicker and lack support systems for recovery (Flowers et al., 2017).
Both solutions directly address this:
Cultural Continuity Spaces and Intergenerational Support Networks reduce isolation through sustained relationships. Connected elders notice health changes sooner, have informal support systems (like what happens naturally at UOP's Black Unity events or through Divine 9 networks), experience better mental health, and maintain purpose. All of these are protective factors that keep our living libraries healthy and engaged.
According to Bowen's theory, when communities restore emotional interdependence, individuals experience less anxiety and better health (Keller & Noone, 2020).
These aren't just cultural solutions. They're preventive healthcare. If these solutions reduced isolation among even 1,000 Stockton elders, we could save $1.6 million annually in Medicare costs while dramatically improving quality of life. Connection saves lives and reduces costs while preserving irreplaceable living libraries.
What You Can Do
Change doesn't require a committee or a budget, it starts with small actions anyone can take in Stockton.
1. Listen to an elder in your neighborhood
Whether you're in Miracle Mile, South Stockton, or Lincoln Village, ask an elder: "What do you remember about the parking lot gatherings? What other spaces have we lost? What traditions matter to you?" Really listen. Their wisdom is the starting point.
2. Connect with organizations already doing this work
Dome of Home has intergenerational programming. UOP's Black Unity brings generations together. The Divine 9 has members from 20s to 100 actively engaged. Don't reinvent, support and expand what's working.
3. Advocate for protecting elder-created spaces
Speak up at City Council when gathering places are threatened. Ask: "Why are we citing restaurants where elders gather instead of supporting them? What happened to the parking lot community, and how do we prevent that from happening again?"
4. Bridge institutions in your sphere
If you're part of a church, school, or organization, ask: "Could we partner with Dome of Home, UOP, or local Divine 9 chapters for intergenerational programming?" The pieces exist, they need connecting.
5. Start in your own block
You don't need permission to organize a storytelling circle in your living room, create a phone tree for isolated elders on your street, or invite elders and youth in your network to share a meal. The village begins on your block, in your neighborhood, with what you can do today.
Conclusion
We began this series asking what "age-friendly" truly means. We've explored theory, assessed Stockton's reality, and proposed two solutions:
Cultural Continuity Spaces that honor elders as wisdom-keepers, cultural teachers, and living libraries whose knowledge sustains communities.
Intergenerational Support Networks that coordinate existing institutions like Dome of Home, UOP, and the Divine 9 to reduce isolation and amplify what's already working.
Think back to that parking lot outside the Chinese restaurant.
Asian elders setting up folding tables. African American elders pulling up chairs. Latinx elders joining the circle. Dominoes clicking. Cards shuffling. Languages mixing. Laughter bridging cultures.
That wasn't a program. It wasn't planned by a committee or funded by a grant.
It was elders doing what they've always known how to do: creating community from nothing but folding tables, card games, and the willingness to show up for each other. These living libraries were sharing knowledge, building bridges, and preserving culture through the simple act of gathering.
The city called it a code violation. The community knew it as belonging.
When we dismantled that space, we didn't just scatter elders. We sent a message about what we value: order over connection, property codes over people, control over the preservation of living libraries.
But here's what we know now:
Stockton doesn't lack the capacity for intergenerational connection. Organizations like Dome of Home, UOP's Black Unity, and the Divine 9 prove it's possible. The elders who built community in that parking lot proved it's natural.
What we lack is systems that protect, support, and amplify what elders create. We need infrastructure that recognizes elders as the living libraries they are.
These two solutions, Cultural Continuity Spaces and Intergenerational Support Networks, offer pathways to do exactly that. They're not about creating something from nothing. They're about recognizing what's already here and refusing to let it be dismantled again. They're about protecting our living libraries.
As Myers (1988) teaches, "To be truly well is to be whole" (p. 2).
Wholeness isn't ramps and senior centers, though we need those too. Wholeness is that parking lot circle of elders. It's Black Unity bringing generations together. It's Divine 9 members in their 20s working alongside members in their 100s. It's Dome of Home creating spaces where youth and elders belong to each other. It's recognizing that every elder is a living library whose knowledge is irreplaceable.
The village isn't a place. It's a practice.
And in Stockton, from Miracle Mile to South Stockton, from UOP to neighborhood churches, the village has never stopped trying to exist. Elders have never stopped creating spaces of connection. These living libraries have never stopped trying to pass their wisdom forward.
The question was never whether elders could build community. They already showed us they can.
The question is whether we'll finally protect what they build. Whether we'll support rather than cite. Whether we'll see elder gathering as cultural wealth, as living libraries that must be preserved, rather than code violations to be eliminated.
The question is: What will you see? What will you protect? What will you build?
The elders are already showing us the way. We just have to choose to follow. We just have to choose to honor them as the living libraries they are.
Thank you for reading this series. Now the work begins, not in City Hall, but in your neighborhood, with the elders on your block, in the spaces where connection already wants to happen.
Let's not dismantle it this time. Let's protect it. Let's grow it. Let's honor it.
Because Stockton's elders have always known: the village begins with us. And every elder is a living library whose pages must be preserved for generations to come.
References
ASA Generations. (2024, March 1). Intergenerational programs as a tool to advance equity. American Society on Aging Generations Journal. https://generations.asaging.org/intergenerational-programs-advance-equity
Carlson, M. C., Saczynski, J. S., Rebok, G. W., Seeman, T., Glass, T. A., McGill, S., Tielsch, J., Frick, K. D., Hill, J., & Fried, L. P. (2008). Exploring the effects of an "everyday" activity program on executive function and memory in older adults: Experience Corps. The Gerontologist, 48(6), 793–801. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/48.6.793
Flowers, L., Houser, A., Noel-Miller, C., Shaw, J., Bhattacharya, J., Schoemaker, L., & Farid, M. (2017). Medicare spends more on socially isolated older adults. AARP Public Policy Institute. https://www.aarp.org/ppi/info-2017/medicare-spends-more-on-socially-isolated-older-adults.html
Fried, L. P., Carlson, M. C., Freedman, M., Frick, K. D., Glass, T. A., Hill, J., McGill, S., Rebok, G. W., Seeman, T., Tielsch, J., Wasik, B. A., & Zeger, S. (2004). A social model for health promotion for an aging population: Initial evidence on the Experience Corps model. Journal of Urban Health, 81(1), 64–78. https://doi.org/10.1093/jurban/jth094
George, D. R., Whitehouse, E. R., & Whitehouse, P. J. (2021). A systematic review of the impacts of intergenerational engagement on older adults' cognitive, social, and health outcomes. Ageing Research Reviews, 71, 101400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2021.101400
Keller, M. N., & Noone, R. J. (2020). Handbook of Bowen family systems theory and research methods: A systems model for family research. Routledge.
Myers, L. J. (1988). Understanding an Afrocentric world view: Introduction to an optimal psychology. Kendall/Hunt.
Myers, L. J., Speight, S. L., Highlen, P. S., Cox, C. I., Reynolds, A. L., Adams, E. M., & Hanley, C. P. (2018). Optimal theory's contributions to understanding and surmounting global challenges to humanity. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 58(6), 732–759. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167818762447
Nobles, W. W. (2009). Elders. In M. K. Asante & A. Mazama (Eds.), Encyclopedia of African religion (pp. 220–224). SAGE Publications.
Pinazo-Hernandis, S., & Kaplan, M. (2024). Effectiveness of intergenerational exchange programs between adolescents and older adults: A systematic review. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 22(1), 56–79. https://doi.org/10.1080/15350770.2023.2267532
Shaw, J. G., Farid, M., Noel-Miller, C., Joseph, N., Houser, A., Asch, S. M., Bhattacharya, J., & Flowers, L. (2017). Social isolation and Medicare spending: Among older adults, objective social isolation increases expenditures while loneliness does not. Journal of Aging and Health, 29(7), 1119–1143. https://doi.org/10.1177/0898264317703559
THE INSPIRATIONAL BLUE MOON IN PISCES
THE INSPIRATIONAL BLUE MOON IN PISCES
AN ASTRONOMICAL DELIGHT
on AUGUST 30, 2023
Many of you, stargazers and astrologers alike, eagerly anticipate the rare and delightful occurrence of a Blue Full Moon - a second full moon within the same calendar month. Chalk your calendars for August 30, 2023, as the cosmos bestows upon us the mysterious Blue Moon bathing in the fantastical aura of Pisces. The Moon's journey through the constellation Pisces allows us to delve deep into the realm of our emotions, innermost dreams, and intuitive capacities. The earthy Virgo Sun in opposition accentuates the ethereal Pisces Moon, creating a soothing balance between the physical and the spiritual world.
KEY INTENTIONS:
Embrace this celestially charged evening to focus your intentions on introspection and spiritual growth. Pisces, the last sign of the zodiac, encapsulates the wisdom of all preceding signs and symbolizes endings as well as new beginnings. Set your intentions this night for unlocking empathy, embracing vulnerability, and fostering spiritual growth.
AFFIRMATIVE POWER:
Recite affirmations of acceptance, letting go of internal hindrances and welcoming emotional healing. As you let the celestial light bathe your senses, repeat potent phrases like, "I honor my intuition," "I am open to spiritual growth," or "I am connected with the divine universe."
MEDITATIONAL JOURNEY:
As the night unfurls its mystical allure, embark on a meditational journey. Find a serene spot under the moonlit sky and capture the magical energy around. Visualize the confident radiance of the Sun meeting the intuitive coolness of the Moon, striking a balance within you. With each breath, let your spirit harmonize with universal intelligence.
EXPLORING THEMES:
Pisces encourages us to explore themes of dreams and subconscious thoughts, urging us to access our inner wisdom. The Blue Full Moon, emblematic of double energetic potential, illuminates our inner realm, pushing the boundaries of our spiritual understanding. Conjuring emotions, intuition, and transcendental understanding, this lunar event allows us to delve into the mysteries of our psyche.
JOURNAL PROMPT:
Engage in reflective journaling to encapsulate your thoughts and feelings during this event. An inspiring prompt to explore might be, "What dreams and subconscious thoughts surfaced during this magical lunar event, and how can they carve out a fulfilling path for my future?"
The Blue Moon in Pisces is a journey into the self's profound depths, a night for profound connection and emotional discovery. Harness the extraordinary power of this celestial confluence for spiritual expansion, inner peace, and intuitive awakening. As we bathe in the soft glow of this Blue Moon, remember, we are but stardust, eternal in the symphony of the cosmos.
Cherina Okikilo Shaw, M.S., M.Ed.