PSU Institute on Aging Newsletter, Winter 2025

Hello, dear IOA community! Sending warm greetings in this turbulent time in history. We have a packed newsletter for you below – full of bright student faces, new research findings and exciting projects, and even an opportunity to help send gerontology students to study in Japan! We also have a lengthy list of upcoming events. Getting together around the causes that matter most to us seems to be a needed balm for chronic uncertainty and fear. Let’s get into it! 

✈️ Help support gerontology students traveling to Japan! From now until June 30th, the IOA is accepting donations to send a small cohort of students to study urban and rural gerontology in Japan. Over 9 days, students will explore the realities of a super-aging society through learning from gerontologists, social workers, and community developers in Tokyo and Akita. This trip will take place in September and is led by Dr. Jacklyn Kohon. 

Meet Jeannette! Jeannette Sager is an MSW student at PSU who loves working with older adults. She is currently interning in an affordable housing residence for seniors and is looking forward to collaborating with other PSU students to bring Untold Stories, an intergenerational art project, to the residents she works with. She is president of the GSA student chapter and is really excited to travel to Japan this summer to explore bringing services to a rapidly aging society!

Meet Max! Hi everyone, my name is Max Goldman, and my pronouns are he/him. I’m a first-year student in PSU’s Master’s of Public Policy program and a graduate research assistant at the Institute on Aging, where I work on an NIH-funded project reviewing and coding state regulations for assisted living facilities. I also serve as treasurer of the Gerontological Society of America Student Chapter at PSU, helping plan an arts and media-based project to shed light on the experiences of older adults through collaboration and art.

All events are free unless specified otherwise.

March 5 @ 9AM | In-Person - Older Adult Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) for Suicide Prevention Older adult suicide is a major public health problem. Older adults have the highest rates of suicide in the world. This skills-based training program is designed to prepare and enable those that live and work with older adults to recognize and respond effectively. 

March 6 @ 6PM | In-Person - The Growing Housing Crisis for Older Adults: Strategies and Solutions We believe that solutions are possible when we work together. Regardless of political ideology and experience, housing is a place where we can come together across our different thinking and move in the same direction toward a solution. Dr. Paula Carder will moderate this community conversation with panelists from New Narrative, Home Share Oregon, and NW Pilot Project.

March 8 @ 1PM | In-Person - No Place to Grow Old: Centering LGBTQ2S+ Elder Voices in the Housing Crisis Join The Marie Equi Center and Friendly House Elder Pride Services for a compelling afternoon of film and conversation. We’ll screen No Place to Grow Old, a documentary examining the broader housing crisis. Following the screening, a panel of LGBTQAI2S+ elders will bring the discussion into focus, sharing their personal experiences with housing insecurity and the unique challenges faced by LGBTQAI2S+ communities. Together, we’ll explore ways to advocate for housing equity and support our elders in securing safe, affordable homes.

🌟 March 10 @ 12PM | Virtual - Careers in Aging: Hospice & Palliative Care Social Work Join the PSU GSA Student Chapter in a conversation with Joelle Osterhaus, Kaiser Permanente social worker, to discuss what is hospice and palliative care, and what roles social workers play. Joelle works on an interdisciplinary team supporting individuals and their loved ones in both in-patient and out-patient settings. 

March 12 @ 12PM | Virtual - Enhancing Community: The Art of Togetherness This OGA session will explore the role of art therapy in supporting individuals as they age. A broad range of topics will be covered, including an overview of art therapy as a practice; the role of art therapy in creating and sustaining community; guiding people through grief and loss; supporting aging artists; opening new avenues for expression and self-exploration as we age; and how eldercare professionals can include art in their work. This event is $5 for students who aren’t OGA members; $15 for non-member community members; free for members. Sliding scale also available.

March 13 @ 9AM | Virtual - Anxiety & Depression: Assessment & Treatment in Older Adults A workforce development training series focusing on geriatric competencies for medical and mental health professionals and paraprofessionals who work with older adults. Participants will: 1) Learn the 3 most common types of anxiety in older adults; 2) Learn 2 differences between Major Depressive Disorder and Dysthymic Disorder; 3) Differentiate 2 ways Bipolar I with Depression Disorder presents from Bipolar II with Depression Disorder.

March 20-21 | In-Person - ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) with OLDER ADULT Emphasis In this 2-day, interactive, skills-based training, you will learn to provide suicide first-aid using a unique 6-task model. This course will include some of the differences that may be present when supporting an older adult through the crisis of suicide. 

🌟 April 1 @ 12PM | Hybrid - Better with Age Brown Bag Lunch & Learn Series: Join the PSU GSA Student Chapter for a discussion on a range of topics with Michele Martinez Thompson, PSU Social Work professor with expertise in working with Latine/a/x communities, integrated health care, aging services, case management across the life span and clinical social work!

April 4 @ 10AM | Virtual - Exploring Diverse Experiences of Aging Using Mobile Methods This workshop will feature four studies–across different geographies, disciplines, and specific populations–that utilized mobile methods as an innovative, qualitative research method to investigate the impact of built and social environments on health and well-being in later life. 

Immigrant Seniors and Immigrant Care Work in Oregon: This project examines mainstream and culturally specific elder care mechanisms among Southeast Asian immigrants in Oregon, the role of immigrant youth in providing family elderly care, their efforts to become part of the elder care workforce, and the challenges they face to continue to provide care. The project aims to review practices in often-sidelined populations to theorize models for long-term care and supportive housing for older Oregonians. Led by Dr. Pronoy Rai, a geographer, and co-led by Dr. Alex Stepick, a sociologist, the project team includes the Pacific Islander & Asian Family Center of the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) as the community partner and Emmanuel Legarretta, a Portland State Sociology PhD student as a Graduate Research Student.

We are a cross-disciplinary group of students - undergraduate and graduate - who are passionate about working in the aging field! Join our student chapter to build relationships, learn from each other, and collaborate on projects with and for older adults. 

🎨 Project Spotlight: Untold Stories of Grief and Joy This spring, our student chapter is organizing an art competition that invites older adults to practice creating art that speaks to their experience of aging. This is a collaborative and intergenerational project with the GSA student chapter and the College of Arts & Social Practice. Stay tuned for updates!

We'd love to hear from you! You can connect with us on LinkedIn & sign up for an account on Portland State's alumni network, PSU Works.