PSU Magazine Spring 2002

I have always been interested in older people. When I was a kid I'd hang around and listen to their stories. I grew up in Tennessee in a large extended family. Listening to grandparent and aunt and uncles was like reading a book. My mother had a stroke when she was 56 and was in a nursing home for a decade. Her one ab iding goal was to get out of that nur ing home, but there were no real alternatives at that time, in the '60s and '70s. She wanted to live her life as she'd always lived it. But the environment in the nursing home was not "nor– mal." People didn't bring their own furniture and things, there were rule about everything, and they had to share space with strangers. I was studying gerontology at the time, and mom told me, "You need to help peo– ple like me." Her experience motivated me to try to help older and chronically ill people live as normally as possible. Unfortunately, my mother never did get out of that nursing home. I met Michael when he hired me to do an evaluation of a research project he was working on in O lympia, Wa hington. I was in schoo l at University of Washington and working at a local nonprofit. Later, we teamed up with an economist friend to build what became one of the nation's first a sisted-living residence in Tigard. It was a totally new model featuring private apartment-sty le living with a si tance, and it didn't fit any of the state's licensing categories. We got an exemption after a lot of negotiation. In 1988 we started our company, Concepts in Community Living, with a $5,000 loan. Ir was a struggle financially, but we were com– mitted to promoting the concept of assisted living nationally. I learned early about the impact of philanthropy. My fat her was a coal miner, and there was a lot of hard– sh ip and struggle while I was growing up. Our family expe ri enced firsthand the difference people who ca red cou ld make in both sma ll ways and big ways. Michael and I have always tried to give to the best of our abil– ity, but it wasn't until recent years that we were able to do anything significant. The timing for our contribution to the Urban Center was right. Each of u got a Ph.D. from the College of Urban and Public Affairs, and we had both taught at the Institute on Aging. We have great admiration for Dean Toulan and we wanted to express this through our gift. P U is in our will, but we aid to our elves, "Why wait? Now is when it's needed." We are also setting up a scho larship, because chol– arship made ou r educations possible. When I wa in co llege I dreamed of making a difference, and I think that is what both of us want, each in our own way. I think we have helped to change the way older people are regarded and treated in our society. We've been able to help people who needed help. We've been blessed to have both the means and the will, and we've been lucky. We want to pass on the luck. ~ren 'Brown Wilson Keren Brown Wilson Ph.D. '83 is the president and CEO of Assisted Living Concepts and president of the Jessie F. Richardson Education Fund. Her husband, Michael DeShane MSW '72, Ph .D. '77, is president and CEO of Concepts in Community Living.