VCU Gerontology

The recordings from The Missing Middle: Aging with Lifelong Disabilities Webinar Wednesday Series are available on the Area Planning and Services Committee on Aging with Lifelong Disabilities (APSC) YouTube Channel.

This four-part series explored practical, real-world topics relevant to adults ages 20–40 with lifelong disabilities and the families, caregivers, self-advocates, and professionals who support them. The series addresses the needs of adults who often find themselves in the "missing middle" after transitioning out of school-based services and while navigating a fragmented system of adult supports.

Topics included:

• Supported Decision-Making in Virginia
• All Needs Planning
• Housing Advocacy: Centers for Independent Living, and Shared Living Options in Virginia
• Social Connection, featuring a panel of self-advocates sharing their lived experiences and perspectives

Watch the full playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpZ890KYnH6J8B7XWJWurkjqM6Hn1CIWR

Please share these recordings with colleagues, community partners, individuals with disabilities and their family members, and others who may find them helpful.

The Missing Middle: Aging with Lifelong Disabilities in Early Adulthood This Wednesday Webinar Series explores practical, real-world topics for adults ages 20–40 with lifelong disabilities, including housing and independent livin...

Virginia Center on Aging's ALTER Program invites you to see this documentary film that addresses the important issue of caregiving for a loved one. Afterward there is opportunity for a Q&A with local experts in caregiving, dementia navigation and healthy living. Register today at https://vcu.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=81625c4d6cbe716e1a73df184&id=68bc95af33&e=c39b72e91c.

CORRECTED TIME: Join us for a free virtual training series for nursing home staff across Virginia. Sonya Barsness, Karen Stobbe, and VCU Gerontology will discuss: All Hands on Deck: It Takes a Village to Do Person-Centered Dementia Care.

In this session, we will focus on the idea that, in order to truly practice person-centered dementia care, each team member plays a part. This means everyone: nurses, nurse aides, housekeepers, life enrichment folks, maintenance, receptionists etc. What does this look like? How do you take steps to have all hands on deck?

Register for this training at https://form.jotform.com/260436625678163.

This series has been created for the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) Nursing Facility Quality Improvement Program (NFQIP) using Civil Money Penalty (CMP) Reinvestment Funds.

Join us for a free virtual training series for nursing home staff across Virginia. Sonya Barsness, Karen Stobbe, and VCU Gerontology will discuss: All Hands on Deck: It Takes a Village to Do Person-Centered Dementia Care.

In this session, we will focus on the idea that, in order to truly practice person-centered dementia care, each team member plays a part. This means everyone: nurses, nurse aides, housekeepers, life enrichment folks, maintenance, receptionists etc. What does this look like? How do you take steps to have all hands on deck?

Register for this training at https://form.jotform.com/260436625678163.

This series has been created for the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) Nursing Facility Quality Improvement Program (NFQIP) using Civil Money Penalty (CMP) Reinvestment Funds.

Henrico County recently earned the Virginia Association of Counties’ highest award for a program designed to increase awareness of ageism and highlight how stereotyping, prejudice or bias against older adults can lead to poorer health outcomes.

The program, titled “Combating Ageism Amongst Emergency Service Providers,” received the Best Achievement Award among the 40 recipients of VACo’s 2026 awards program.

Henrico also earned an Achievement Award for “Arrive Alive,” a comprehensive transportation safety program to improve understanding and address patterns of fatal and serious injury crashes across the community.

“Combating Ageism” was developed in 2024 by the Outreach & Engagement Agency’s Older Adult Services unit and the Division of Fire, with guidance from the Virginia Center on Aging.

To read the full article by Henrico Citizen, click this link: https://www.henricocitizen.com/henrico-ageism-awarness-program-earns-top-vaco-award/. Photo from Citizen files.

The Virginia Geriatric Education Center proudly presents the CIRCAA 2025-2026 graduating class! Sixteen interprofessional scholars from across the state spent nine months studying age friendly health systems and the Four Ms (mobility, mentation, meds, what matters). We wrapped up the program by learning about their capstone projects through poster presentations. Learn more about the CIRCAA program here: https://vcoa.chp.vcu.edu/vgec/circaa/ Details and application information for the 2026-2027 cohort will be posted there soon!

Tracey Gendron, Ph.D., Executive Director for the Virginia Center on Aging and Chair for VCU's Department of Gerontology, recently spoke with TIME about ageism, why how we talk about aging is important and what it means to feel your age.

“Your 70 is going to look different from somebody else’s 70—but it’s still, indisputably, your 70," Gendron shared with TIME. "Resist the urge to translate how you feel into a younger number altogether. If you feel energetic, curious and in love with your life, that’s not 50 talking. That's you, at 70."

You can read the full article by Angela Haupt on TIME’s website: https://time.com/article/2026/05/14/ageist-phrases-stop-saying-aging-language/.

Aisling Clardy of the Virginia Center on Aging & VCU Gerontology joined nationally recognized elder justice experts Erica Wood and Sally Hurme at the Virginia Coalition for the Prevention of Elder Abuse Conference in Virginia Beach to present the Virginia Decision-Making Supports: Options Less Restrictive Than Guardianship plain language guide.

Too often, guardianship is seen as the default recommendation for older adults and people with disabilities, when in many cases there may be less restrictive options that better protect autonomy, rights and self-determination.

The guide, along with additional supported decision-making resources, is available through the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.
https://dbhds.virginia.gov/supported-decision-making-supported-decision-making-agreements/

The Art of Memory is an immersive, intergenerational program honoring aging as a living, embodied art form. Older adults 55+ will experience memory as something that can be supported, nourished and respected. Join the Virginia Memory Project and partners on Friday, May 15 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Southside Community Center (6255 Old Warwick Road, Richmond VA). Register today at bit.ly/ArtofMemory.

May is Older Americans Month. As we think about this year’s ACL theme, Champion Your Health, we draw attention to the importance and impact of congregate meals. Congregate meals are about so much more than food. They create community, connection, support, and belonging — all essential to healthy aging. 💙

Food is memory, culture, comfort, and healing. That’s why person-centered, trauma-informed (PCTI) practices matter in congregate meal settings. Small changes can help older adults feel seen, valued, respected, and connected.

📑 Studies show that people who participate in congregate meals are less likely to be depressed and they benefit from increased socialization - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7740316/.

This Older Americans Month, consider ways to strengthen your congregate setting:
✨ Welcome participant feedback — and act on it
✨ Create calm, respectful, inclusive spaces
✨ Encourage second servings or take-home meals
✨ Offer culturally meaningful foods when possible
✨ Review policies through a lens of dignity, healing, and self-determination
✨ Provide PCTI education for staff and volunteers

Sometimes, one simple question can make all the difference:
“What foods feel most nourishing or healing to you?”

Every interaction matters. Every story matters. Every meal together matters.

Find more Champion Your Health resources - https://acl.gov/news-and-events/announcements/older-americans-month-2026-theme-champion-your-health.

Older Adults Seek Out Congregate Nutrition Programs for Socialization Social connectedness is vital for healthy aging. Older adults often have fewer opportunities to socialize due to reasons such as illness, death of spouse, and mobility limitations. The Older Americans Act Congregate Nutrition Program provides meals ...