The Power of Language: Practice in a Shared Site

Abstract

This paper presents the importance of the use of inclusive, nonstigmatizing language in a Generations of Hope Community. A Generations of Hope Community is an intentional intergenerational neighborhood developed to support three generations: vulnerable children and youth, families, and older adults. Through the transformative power of language, people of all ages create stories of caring relationships, of purposeful engagement, of continuity and commitment, of belonging. As these stories emerge, they become the foundation on which family and community integration is built. These stories are at the heart of what makes these shared sites work.

Keywords:

• inclusive
• language
• intergenerational
• community

Acknowledgments

Editors' note: This paper is representative of the papers that will be published in the Journal of Intergenerational Relationship's upcoming special issue, volume 9, issue 4, that will feature intergenerational shared site initiatives.

This work was supported with a grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation.

Notes

1. In addition to supporting families by adopting children from the foster care system, this model of intergenerational living is being adapted to help stabilize the lives of teenage mothers and homeless youth and to intercede in the lives of youth involved in the juvenile justice system or young mothers facing reentry following incarceration or drug treatment programs. For more information about GHCs, see Eheart, Hopping, Power, Mitchell, and Racine (2009). For more information about Hope Meadows, see http://www.generationsofhope.org.