Meeting Residents at Judson Park

Yesterday Susan Altshuler and I spent time visiting and learning from a group of Judson Park residents.

We met with:

Tina Blaine, Judson Wellness

Eileen Cohart, Weekend Manager

Lin Bartel, Judson, Eden Alternative Program

Beth Bohn, Resident

Pricilla "Prill" Goldthwait, Resident

Claire Greve, Resident

Barbara Levy, Resident

Billie Smith, Resident

Margaret Gannon, Resident

Betsey Merkel, I-Open

Susan Altshuler, I-Open

We shared information about what we and other members of the Women's Enterprise Network hope to contribute and gain from open conversations focused on economic development from a woman's perspective. The group that voluntarily assembled were all women. The general consensus was that the internet television show idea was a good one and there was interest in participating.

The group had suggestions for us about the program:

• they questioned the time of show for Judson residents - they wondered if it would be better later in the day;
• had we thought through the intent of the program and how did it connect to economic development?
• we received excellent feedback on the program questions for the next three shows

Other conversation ensued, as did additional comments and suggestions,

• The Intergenerational School, directed by Dr. Peter Whitehouse, offers an excellent class on growth and aging
• The inter-relationship dynamics that naturally go on between children and adults is often something we are not aware of
  
• One participant learned about aging from her Grandmother, and as a child she did not understand how her Grandmother could go on knowing she was going to die
• Topic suggestion: the development of the woman in aging
  

You can listen to our meeting on our channel in the On-Demand folder: "Dialogue and Inclusion"

We concluded it would be helpful if we started with interviewing this group's residents about what they are passionate about, and then work on how the interviews fit in to the conversations and the connection to economic development. Everyone contributed their contact information, a mix of e-mails and phone numbers.