Published: August 12, 2024
Kendal at Oberlin is home to more than 300 people in their 60s and well beyond. They come from near (Oberlin and Cleveland) and far (Hawaii, Canada and elsewhere). The residents share many common values, such as sustainability and lifelong learning, and many have ties to Oberlin College. But each resident has his or her own unique story.
Meet Abe Feingold
Oberlin College grad (1980) Abe Feingold applied to just one college, and he felt such camaraderie at Oberlin that as he grew older, he imagined spending his later years in Oberlin, surrounded by kindred men and women.
During reunions and through the college alumni magazine he became acquainted with Kendal and six months ago made the move. And déjà vu!
“It’s similar to how I felt about going to Oberlin College. As I’ve come to know people here at Kendal, it’s remarkable how much we have in common,” says the retired clinical psychologist.
At 66, Abe is one of the youngest residents, but he figures that just gives him more time to enjoy all that Kendal, the college and city have to offer.
A welcoming community
Kendal is home to an active and engaged LGBTQ+ & Allies Interest Group. As a gay man who is most comfortable contributing to projects “behind the scenes,” Abe has gotten involved with two of the group’s current activities.
Services and Advocacy for LGBTQ+ Elders (SAGE) has certified Kendal as meeting its Long-Term Care Equality Index (LEI), the nation’s foremost benchmarking survey of residential long-term care and senior housing communities on policies and practices dedicated to the equitable treatment and inclusion of their LGBTQ+ residents, visitors and employees. Kendal is now working towards its certification update, which includes completing a resident survey focused on LGBTQ+ care, needs and concerns at Kendal at Oberlin. The resident survey is currently being drafted and will be circulated this fall.
Also, Kendal is gearing up for SAGE training for residents. The facilitated discussion will focus on the history and lived experiences of LGBTQ+ older adults, and how to create space for understanding and empathy to promote an inclusive environment where everyone feels safe and welcome.
With experience developing and implementing service programs that have been well received in communities of color, Abe looks forward to getting involved with Kendal’s Diversity, Equality, Inclusion, Belonging (DEIB) Committee.
“We believe in a diverse community where inclusion rather than ‘fit’ is the guiding principle,” states Kendal in its 2022-2026 Strategic Plan. One of its seven goals is to “assure Kendal at Oberlin is a community that demonstrates commitments to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging in its actions and its communications.”
An added attraction for Abe
In the years leading up to Abe’s move from Florida, where he was helping care for his parents, he enjoyed reading the monthly Kendalight and daily announcements of activities and meals. As a self-described introvert, he was thrilled to see a notice for “Introverts Unite” inviting residents to take part in a listserv as well as optional monthly luncheons and Zoom meetings, and now has joined the group.
“Kendal is so attuned to the variety of people who live at Kendal,” he says.
Yet, just as LGBTQ+ residents have been educating the community about their needs and concerns, residents who identify as introverts are doing the same. For instance, “Introverts Unite” members recently gave a PowerPoint presentation at a two-day Dining stakeholders meeting about some of their concerns when eating in a dining room, such as being placed at a table with just one other diner or not next to a crowded, lively table of diners.
“One model of dining doesn’t suit everyone,” he says, adding that the meeting conveners welcomed their input for making dining at Kendal a more inclusive experience for all residents.
Abe looks forward to spending more time on the Oberlin College campus once the new school year gets underway. “I can now do all the things I couldn’t make time for as a student here,” Abe says. “I moved to Kendal earlier than I planned, so I’m not rushing into things. I have time to reacquaint myself with the college campus and its many resources and to explore the larger Oberlin community.”
In the past, Molly Kavanaugh frequently wrote about Kendal at Oberlin for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, where she was a reporter for 16 years. Now we are happy to have her writing for the Kendal at Oberlin Community.
About Kendal at Oberlin: Kendal is a nonprofit life plan community serving older adults in northeast Ohio. Located about one mile from Oberlin College and Conservatory, and about a 40 minute drive from downtown Cleveland, Kendal offers a vibrant resident-led lifestyle with access to music, art and lifelong learning.
