At Home, On Air | Podcast Episode 55

Senior Women Living Together: A Canadian Grassroots Initiative

In this episode, host Susanne Stadler, architect and AHWGO Executive Director, welcomes Pat Dunn, the Founder and Executive Director of Senior Women Living Together, an active grassroots non-profit corporation working to ensure that every senior woman has housing options that allow her to maintain her independence, autonomy and dignity.

Pat is a former Public Health Nurse whose path to founding Senior Women Living Together was born out of personal hardship. After losing her husband suddenly in 2014, Pat found herself navigating widowhood, financial instability, and an affordable housing crisis that pushed her to the brink of homelessness by 2018. Unable to find safe, affordable shared housing options for senior women, Pat took matters into her own hands.

In 2019, she launched a Facebook group to connect like-minded women — and within a year, over 1,700 members had joined, revealing just how widespread the crisis was. Drawing on her background in program development, Pat created a structured support system to help women find compatible homemates, and soon found stable, affordable housing for herself through the very community she built.

“I had no idea there were so many senior women living in precarious housing situations and socially isolated. Now, I had a different problem … I needed to find a way to help them all, not just myself.”

Driven by the stories of the women she met along the way, Pat transformed her grassroots group into a non-profit organization dedicated to helping senior women across Canada find safe, affordable, and companionable housing — turning her own lowest moment into a lifeline for thousands.

Episode Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/CLn6UmNYRO4

Takeaway Resources: https://athomewithgrowingold.com/2026/05/22/at-home-on-air-a-conversation-with-pat-dunn/

At Home With Growing Older is proud to host At Home, On Air — a radio hour offering connection, community and knowledge to our participants.

Learn more, support our work, and register for the next LIVE episode of At Home, On Air: www.athomewithgrowingolder.org.

In this episode, host Susanne Stadler, architect and AHWGO Executive Director, welcomes Stacy Torres, Ph.D. — Assistant Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the UCSF School of Nursing and author of At Home in the City: Growing Old in Urban America (2025) — for a discussion on the lifelong practice of aging in place.

Stacy's interest in this topic is deeply personal. When the neighborhood café and bakery she called her "home away from home" in New York had to close, she followed the people — conducting a five-year ethnographic study tracing elderly regulars through loss, health setbacks, and the slow churn of a changing city. What she found was striking: "With many of the people I spent time with, going out was essential to their functioning, to their mental health, to their physical functioning."

That insight shapes a bigger invitation — to rethink aging in place not as something that happens to us later, but as a lifelong practice of seeking out the spaces where we are recognized and belong. From a neighborhood bakery, a nearby park, to a public library, where do we go to linger, to become a "regular," to build intergenerational connections? As Stacy puts it: "The practice of finding your places and your people, wherever they may be, creating your webs of connections — it really does need to begin earlier." Join us as we explore what it takes, in our communities and ourselves, to build the social infrastructure that supports growing older together.

Episode Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/qMEGRINF65o

Takeaway Resources: https://athomewithgrowingold.com/2026/03/11/at-home-on-air-a-conversation-with-stacy-torres/

At Home With Growing Older is proud to host At Home, On Air — a radio hour offering connection, community and knowledge to our participants.

Learn more, support our work, and register for the next LIVE episode of At Home, On Air: www.athomewithgrowingolder.org.

At Home, On Air | Podcast Episode 53:

Why Nature Matters: The Impact of the Natural World on Our Health and Longevity

In this episode, host Susanne Stadler, architect and AHWGO Executive Director, welcomes Susan Rodiek, Ph.D. — architect, researcher, author and Professor Emerita with the Center for Health Systems & Design School of Architecture at Texas A&M University — for a discussion on how contact with nature shapes our health, independence, and longevity as we age.

Dr. Rodiek shares the science behind nature’s therapeutic effects, from groundbreaking cortisol studies to practical design solutions that remove barriers and create easy outdoor access in homes and senior communities. As she puts it: "The closer you live to a usable, accessible green space, the healthier you are and the longer you live."

Learn how surprisingly simple changes — threshold design, transition spaces, a sheltered spot for fresh air, a well-placed chair by the window — can significantly improve physical and mental well-being in later life.

This conversation invites us to rethink our relationship with the natural world and take up Dr. Rodiek's challenge: "How do we explore, celebrate, and utilize our connection with nature?"

Episode Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/A5ao0oBvYu5

Takeaway Resources: https://athomewithgrowingold.com/2026/02/01/at-home-on-air-a-conversation-with-dr-susan-rodiek/

At Home With Growing Older is proud to host At Home, On Air — a radio hour offering connection, community and knowledge to our participants.

Learn more, support our work, and register for the next LIVE episode of At Home, On Air: www.athomewithgrowingolder.org.

In this episode, host Susanne Stadler, architect and AHWGO Executive Director, welcomes Lydia Bransten, Executive Director of The Gubbio Project, for a compelling conversation about building community through compassion and sanctuary.

The Gubbio Project is a pioneering daytime shelter housed in St. John the Evangelist Church in San Francisco's Mission District. Since its founding, Gubbio has offered a radical form of sanctuary: a safe place for unhoused neighbors to rest during the day, no questions asked.

In this episode, we explore how Lydia's background in arts and theater informs her approach to building community and creating dynamic, engaging environments for healing. We discuss the origins of the Gubbio Project and its namesake—the Italian town where St. Francis famously found mutual understanding with a wolf by bringing it into the community rather than treating it as a monster.

Lydia shares powerful insights about destigmatizing visible poverty, the crucial role of low-barrier spaces in our public health infrastructure, and what happens when housed and unhoused neighbors come together in shared spaces. We examine why sanctuary matters, how the church's mission aligns with harm reduction principles, and why expensive solutions like increased policing often fail to address the root issues. From recaptured food programs to partnerships with the Department of Public Health, The Gubbio Project demonstrates what's possible when we choose community care over criminalization.

This conversation challenges us to rethink our relationship to public space, safety, and what it means to truly welcome our most vulnerable neighbors into the fold.

"When you start to be treated like you deserve better, you suddenly want better. You can start to envision better: What does better look like?" — Lydia Bransten

At Home With Growing Older is proud to host At Home, On Air — a radio hour offering connection, community and knowledge to our participants.

Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/RO3XAuNe9JI

Takeaway Resources: https://athomewithgrowingold.com/2025/12/06/at-home-on-air-a-conversation-with-lydia-bransten/

Learn more, support our work, and register for the next LIVE episode of At Home, On Air: www.athomewithgrowingolder.org.

At Home, On Air Podcast Episode 51 | People First: Creating Spaces Without Walls

In this episode of our podcast, we welcome Nichole Battle, the CEO of the Govans Ecumenical Development Corporation (GEDCO). In this compelling conversation, hosted by architect and AHWGO Executive Director Susanne Stadler, we explore the profound connection between affordable housing and community vitality.

“What if affordable housing could transform entire communities, not just provide shelter?”

Battle leads GEDCO, a Baltimore-based affordable housing developer born from a coalition of churches responding to their parishioners' needs. With her background in urban planning, landscape architecture, and real estate development—plus deep roots as a longtime Baltimore resident—Nichole understands that decent housing goes beyond four walls and a roof. It's about creating context: green spaces where neighbors gather, ball fields for exercise and play, urban farms that nourish bodies and spirits, and sacred grounds for celebration and reflection. It's also about stability—having a home provides the foundation people need to secure employment and fully participate in community life.

“When we put people first, housing becomes something bigger—it creates spaces without walls that strengthen the entire community,” shares Nichole.

At Home With Growing Older is proud to host At Home, On Air—a radio hour offering connection, community and knowledge to our participants.

Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/edWRfMnDZkd

Learn more, support our work, and register for the next LIVE episode of At Home, On Air: www.athomewithgrowingolder.org.

On our podcast – At Home, On Air – we welcome Jennie Chin Hansen, the immediate past CEO of the American Geriatrics Society, former President of AARP, previous Executive Director of On Lok, and a longtime community advocate.

In this forward-looking conversation, Jennie draws from her lifelong career in the field of aging as well as her own personal aging journey. She discusses the strength that comes with older age — why living with agency while experiencing the normal changes of aging is essential to our wellbeing.

Jennie challenges us to rethink interdependence: how can we nourish our connections across generations and build "new muscles" by working alongside younger people, acknowledging our differences rather than avoiding them?

She speaks to the responsibility that comes with being an older adult — to share our resources and take care of those who come behind us, to be soldiers of caretaking and the collective good, keeping the flow going for generations to come.

This is a conversation that will shift how you see your own aging journey — and inspire you to build the intergenerational connections our world desperately needs.

At Home With Growing Older is proud to be your host of At Home, On Air — a radio hour offering connection, community and knowledge to our participants remotely.

Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/DM4dSR03y5F

Learn more, support our work, and register for the next LIVE episode of At Home, On Air: www.athomewithgrowingolder.org.

This episode of the At Home, On Air podcast, is an archived conversation from May 2020. In honor of Disability Pride Month, we're bringing you this engaging conversation: "Moving Toward Pride: What an Anti-Ageism Movement Can Learn from Disability Pride."

Our guest speakers are two amazing women, each a thought leader and movement builder — Ashton Applewhite is a writer, anti-ageism expert, and author known for using compelling statistics to challenge ageist assumptions; and Tiffany Yu is a social impact entrepreneur, diversity and inclusion community builder, and disability advocate recognized for her work rebranding disability through storytelling and community building.

In this powerful conversation, Ashton and Tiffany explore the parallels between anti-ageism and disability pride movements through personal stories and professional insights, examining how both communities can learn from each other's advocacy strategies. They discuss the importance of moving beyond fear-based narratives, the challenge of "passing" in both communities, and how intersectionality shapes their experiences. The dialogue covers everything from reframing language around aging and disability to reimagining community spaces, offering insights into building more inclusive movements that celebrate rather than hide these identities.

At Home With Growing Older is proud to be your host of At Home, On Air — a radio hour offering connection, community and knowledge to our participants remotely.

Help us continue bringing you meaningful conversations like this one! Subscribe to never miss an episode, share with someone who'd love this discussion, or make a donation to keep these important dialogues free and accessible. Ready to join our next LIVE episode? Learn more and register at: www.athomewithgrowingolder.org.

Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/FbbOkm2RMdk

On our podcast – At Home, On Air – we continue our mini-series, Changemaker Interviews, where we highlight the impact of changemakers on the quality of our lives. These individuals have challenged and changed systems, introduced new ways of thinking and told previously untold stories.

In the fifth installment of the series, we welcome Betty Reid Soskin’s granddaughter Alyana Reid and filmmaker Bryan Gibel to discuss what they learned from listening to Betty’s stories for their nearly-completed documentary, “Sign My Name to Freedom,” which uncovers Betty’s early career as a musician. Through this film and her memoir of the same name, Betty has revived compositions hidden for decades, demonstrating the value of continuing to explore and revive long-held passions in later life, not just for one’s own benefit but also for the benefit of younger generations to help them shape their journeys.

At 103 years old, Betty Charbonnet Reid Soskin’s remarkable life spans the defining American fault lines of the 20th and 21st centuries. From breaking racial barriers as the first African American family settling in Walnut Creek to becoming the oldest National Park Service Ranger at 85 at the Rosie the Riveter National Historic Park in Richmond, California, her stories illuminate crucial experiences that might otherwise be lost to time.

Betty didn’t just sign her name to freedom — she signed it to every part of herself that deserved to be known, offering us all a powerful example of how sharing our complete stories across generations creates a more empathetic world.

Alyana and Bryan's insights will leave you thinking differently about the stories waiting to be told in your own life and community. Don't just listen — let this episode of At Home, On Air spark something new in your own story!

At Home With Growing Older is proud to be your host of At Home, On Air — a radio hour offering connection, community and knowledge to our participants remotely.

Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/RqrWNxUX6FX

Learn more, support our work, and register for the next LIVE episode of At Home, On Air: www.athomewithgrowingolder.org.

"Stay curious. That is a longevity strategy. Stay curious about your surroundings, about the world, about yourself. Stay curious." - Patrick Roden

On our podcast – At Home, On Air – we continue our mini-series, Changemaker Interviews, where we highlight the impact of changemakers on the quality of our lives. These individuals have challenged and changed systems, introduced new ways of thinking and told previously untold stories.

In the fourth installment of the series, we're joined by Patrick Roden, RN, Ph.D., a passionate advocate for aging-in-place whose unique journey spans over 40 years as a nurse, gerontologist, and creative aging champion.

The conversation, hosted by Susanne Stadler, contrasts Historical Gerontology's decline-focused perspective with Critical Gerontology's view of lifelong development. Patrick shares his concept of 'Possibility Aging,' highlighting how divergent thinking and creativity enhance the aging process. He discusses insights from his dissertation research, where he interviewed older artists who adapted their creative processes to overcome physical limitations, documenting the remarkable physical, cognitive, and emotional benefits of sustained creative practice.

Patrick presents his evidence-informed 'formula' for healthy aging that places creativity at its core and explains how beauty and artistic expression become powerful tools for wellbeing in later years. The discussion also emphasizes the importance of environmental delight and strategies like volunteering and staying curious to maintain purpose in later life. Audience questions address applying these principles across different arts and finding meaning in aging, even without an artistic background.

This episode offers an inspiring perspective on aging not as decline but as an opportunity for continued growth, meaning, and joy through creative engagement. We hope Patrick's insights will encourage you to embrace creativity as a pathway to vibrant aging in your own home, life, and community!

At Home With Growing Older is proud to be your host of At Home, On Air a radio hour offering connection, community and knowledge to our participants remotely. We invite you to listen and learn from this episode of At Home, On Air.

Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/p15edwSOJOy

Takeaway Resources: https://athomewithgrowingold.com/2025/01/31/at-home-on-air-a-conversation-with-patrick-roden/ (Including the handout mentioned by Patrick).

Learn more, support our work, and register for the next LIVE episode of At Home, On Air: www.athomewithgrowingolder.org.

On our podcast – At Home, On Air – we continue our mini-series, Changemaker Interviews, where we highlight the impact of changemakers on the quality of our lives. These individuals have challenged and changed systems, introduced new ways of thinking and told previously untold stories.

In this third installment of the series, we welcome author and climate activist, Harry “Rick” Moody. We discuss his latest book, Climate Change in an Aging Society, and explore the concept of “Eco Elders,” why hope is essential for meaningful action, and practical steps older adults can take from home. Moody challenges the paralyzing effects of pessimism and encourages everyone to “think globally, act locally” through simple but significant changes.

This discussion highlights how older adults, while more vulnerable to climate impacts, can still be powerful agents of change in addressing one of our greatest global challenges. Join us as we explore the intersection of climate change and aging, emphasizing both individual and collective action. Calling us all to action, Moody urges, "I encourage everybody to find that one thing that you can do, and do it!"

We hope Rick’s personal stories and insights will inspire you to make positive changes in your own home, life, and community.

At Home With Growing Older is proud to be your host of At Home, On Air – a radio hour offering connection, community and knowledge to our participants remotely. We invite you to listen and learn from this episode of At Home, On Air.

Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/RP0doJVqPmR

Learn more, support our work, and register for the next LIVE episode of At Home, On Air: www.athomewithgrowingolder.org.