Challenge

Senior centers haven’t changed much since they were first created in the 70s, but the “American senior” has changed dramatically. What do agencies need to do to catch up? This community research project with Meals on Wheels explored how agencies could adapt and reimagine older adult programming to serve some of Cincinnati’s fastest growing — and historically underserved — senior groups.

The Project

As part of the design team at Design Impact, I co-led the research and engagement process. This project was one of my favorites because it gave me the opportunity to merge my community organizing experience with the local Asian community and my design research expertise through Design Impact.

I led outreach and strategy in partnership with AAPI organizers and community groups, and conducted interviews and group conversations with Filipino, Indian, Chinese, and Black communities of various incomes, languages, and countries of origin in Greater Cincinnati.

Approach: Starting With Strengths

Instead of solely researching communities’ deficits and needs, we held group conversations, interviews, and site observations to learn how Black and Asian communities in Cincinnati were already caring for their elders, how they filled the gaps in social services, and what agencies could do better so communities could age with dignity.

Dishing Out Results

It was important to share what we learned with the groups we interviewed. Instead of sharing reports in a board room or a church basement, we wanted something fun that got elders out of the house and mingling with each other. And of course food had to be involved.

We shared our findings at a potluck where interviewees brought dishes, talked about the findings, and shared their ideas for better senior services that worked for their communities. The project resulted in critical insights about Cincinnati’s Black and Asian seniors, with strategies to improve agencies’ outreach and programming.