The Southeast Examiner recently featured Write Around Portland’s transformational
work at local care facility Whitewood Gardens!
Write Around Portland has partnered with Whitewood Gardens for many years to bring
writing in community to its senior residents.
As Program Manager Lilly Do says in the article, “Helping folks leave a legacy and
helping their words get out [are goals of the workshop]. Especially with seniors, there is
this sense of loneliness, and also a lot of grappling with mortality.”
A 2023 report from the Department of Health and Human Services labeled loneliness as
an epidemic in America and hosting a writing group at Whitewood Gardens directly
works to counteract this troubling trend. Through coming together once per week
around the writing table, residents of Whitewood Gardens are able to build stronger
relationships and foster a greater sense of community together.
“People get to know one another at a level that just doesn’t happen when you’re just
sitting at a table having breakfast,” Chris Nelson, the Life Enrichment Director at
Whitewood Gardens, says in the article.
You can read the full article and learn more about our writers on the Southeast Examiner website.