Stacy Shewey was an executive director for an assisted living facility in Jacksonville, Florida. “I hated that job! But I saw how many older people are starving for interaction with younger people". She then started thinking about how she could get young people to spend time with the seniors. "I hit upon the idea of orphans"!
Stacey grew up in what she calls “an intergenerational home,” with her grandparents living downstairs. “Their stories of the past influenced who I am today,” she said. “From a young age, I learned the importance of that relationship.”
She started Hands 4 Life. They have 4 objectives. Share the Gospel from the womb to the tomb. 2 Generational change. The seniors impart their wisdom and the children learn the commandment of honoring their elders. 3. Ensure that elders years are their most impactful years. Economic growth by creating jobs. The elderly love feeling important passing on their wisdom and the orphans are not only becoming wiser but Stacey says it's much more! “We’re rewriting their narrative. Instead of being kicked out of an orphanage at 18—that’s when the human traffickers are waiting for them and that’s when the gangs are waiting for them—we are raising them as our own children.”
She wants this to be an international effort because “Right now, 60 percent of the world’s elderly live in developing nations. By 2050, it will be up to 80 percent.” So their first home is in Honduras where they have built an assisted living facility a children's home, a school, a medical facility and a church. They have broken ground on their next facility in Nigeria. She has set a goal of a new development opening every 3 years.
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