Partnership between Los Gatos students, senior residents is one for the ages

Bill Shinmori was one of the residents of Belmont Village Senior Living Los Gatos who was interviewed and painted by a local student, but he needed a staff member to jog his memory for the former.

“I’m 93 years old. My memory is about this long,” Shinmori said, gesturing to the end of his fingertip.

He smiled fondly when he was reminded of the time he taught kids gin rummy and made paper lanterns with them, but he struggled to remember it on his own.

Apart from memory issues, connecting younger and older generations can help improve health and address social isolation, according to an article in Generations Journal by the American Society on Aging.

“These connections between our residents and our community members are priceless,” said Randy Martino, who is in charge of staff and student wellness and student relations in the Union School District.

Belmont Village was built on the district’s former maintenance yard, Martino said. Headquartered in San Jose’s Cambrian neighborhood, the district also serves Los Gatos students.

When the senior home opened in 2022, the school district struck up a partnership with their new neighbors that would foster connections between students, their families and the older adults at Belmont Village.

According to the American Society on Aging, social interaction has numerous health benefits, including lowering the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia, improving heart health and lowering stress and the risk of depression. The benefits aren’t just mental; social engagement can reduce inflammation and improve antiviral responses.

Not only do these intergenerational connections prevent older adults from feeling lonely in their waning years, but they also give younger people a new way to deal with traumatic grief and even gang violence, according to the article.

“Connectedness is more complex than care and companionship because it requires intentionality from both participants,” wrote Maurya D. Cockrell in the article. “Intergenerational connections can lead to happiness, empathy, compassion and social intelligence.”

Martino said groups of students have come by Belmont Village for numerous activities like playing music and playing board games with seniors with Alzheimer’s and dementia. Senior residents returned the favor by hosting a Halloween treat or treat event for first- and second-graders.

Students also partook in a biography project, where students interviewed residents about their lives, passions, interests and wishes.

Siddharth Chandramouli, 12,  and Saathvik Viswanathan, 14, from Union Middle School interviewed Belmont Village resident John DeLuca, who had previously worked in the White House. They said they participated in the program as part of their art class and were assigned to interview and draw DeLuca.

Chandramouli recalled that the older man was really happy to share his story because he doesn’t get to talk about it often, adding that he was really excited to meet DeLuca. Chandramouli said the experience taught him about perseverance and allowed him to hone his art skills while teaching him how to collaborate, communicate and delegate tasks.

Viswanathan, who was brought into the program after an accidental call from Martino to his household, said he initially didn’t want to take on volunteer opportunities or activities outside of school but changed his mind after the experience.

“It was actually a really good experience,” Viswanathan said. “I would definitely choose to do it again.”

Martino said the partnership has had positive impacts on students’ performance at school. He credited the biographical portraits with helping students get more engaged with research, history and interviewing. He said that when students came out to play board games with seniors with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, they practice care and compassion and their writing, reasoning and empathy improves.

Belmont Village resident Barbara Bacher, 84, also participated in the biography project, which came as a surprise to her relatives. Bacher recalled that she just sat and posed the way the student asked, saying, “I never minded it. I thought it was kind of fun.”

But her son, daughter and granddaughter were surprised when the middle schoolers came back to deliver their portraits to residents including Bacher, who had not told her family about the project. But they said they were impressed with the results.

“This young girl was so unassuming, but she just has an amazing talent, and it was wonderful to see that interaction between the generations,” said Anne Bacher, Barbara’s daughter.