Setting the tone for the conference, Sarah Hoit – former White House advisor and Peace Corps trainer – now a social entrepreneur and the CEO and Co-Founder of Connected Living, spoke passionately about the difficulty of organizing and reaching low-income seniors in public housing projects.
The moment is urgent and we will be judged by how we live up to that challenge, Hoit said, offering the context for the day.
“It is inconceivable that we have left a whole generation out of the national conversation,” Hoit said, noting that the damage done includes depression, even greater isolation among a very isolated age group, and no access to continuing education, health care information, and regular communication.
“This is not even a rich and poor issue – the older generation today is more isolated than ever before,” Hoit said, even as technology is making the rest of us even more connected and aware.
Make no mistake about it, Hoit said, this work is beyond hard; it’s nearly impossible. “Lots of people have failed at this – but this is all about social justice, inspiring generations, and equal opportunity.”
Through the wisdom of their lives and experience, seniors have a wealth of information and experience to offer the nation, said Hoit.
“The social consequence of just caring that a senior wakes up in the morning is enormous,” Hoit said, maintaining that connecting low-income seniors (the average age of her clients is 85) will save the government money on health care for this demographic.
“Success takes partnerships, a good public-private component and an administration that cares,” Hoit said. “Success is based on three fundamental things: money, sustainability, and results.”
Optimistic about the wide range of people being served by Connected Living, Hoit stressed that there has to be a return on the investment.
“We are doing things differently,” Hoit said. “With programming and people, you can’t make an impact if you don’t make it compelling enough to take seniors across the line to connectivity, and a greater involvement in their lives and health care.”
“The BTOP grants were a gift – an extraordinary opportunity for this moment in time,” Hoit said, describing the boost the stimulus funding gave to organizations trying to connect the elderly. Hoit’s daily inspiration, she said, is in the voices and the faces of those seniors whose lives are transformed by the nature of being connected to the world.