INDIANAPOLIS — A dedicated mentoring group is working to foster safety and personal growth among young girls across Indianapolis.
Ladies Under Construction recently launched a program called Generations to Generations Connect.
It involves visits from young ladies to residents at Arlington Place Health Campus on the east side.
“It’s a companion program. So each of the young ladies actually have a resident to where they visit a couple times a month, just having fun, finding out what they like, and really being that companion," Ladies Under Construction Founder Aleanya Moore said.
Moore hopes the program will benefit residents who may not get visits from family members and help them feel less lonely.
"I'll tell you what it does. It sends up shivers right up my back to see this, because it is so sweet, those girls doing it," Resident Minerva Yonts said.
The new partnership kicked off with a personal care drive hosted by Ladies Under Construction at Arlington Place. The girls in the program took residents around to get personal hygiene items for free.
Resident Marilyn DuPriest picked up several items.
“Everything on that table… a pillow.. a blanket…wash clothes, socks,” DuPriest said. “They are so helpful – that one that helped me…. She's no bigger than I am, and she's pushing my wheelchair. She was great!”
"To be able to get this stuff at no charge, and to just think that someone else is thinking about them, and don't want me thinking to reach in return, but to make them happy is definitely a blessing,” Regina Hopkins, Life Enrichment Director at Arlington Place, said.
Ladies Under Construction serves girls ages five to 17. Moore founded the program 16 years ago.
"Growing up with my grandmother, I really didn't have a lot of female role models, and so there was a lot of things that I didn't get internally, so it really kind of birthed in that purpose out of some of the pain that I had as a young girl,” Moore said.
Moore hopes the new initiative will bridge the generational gap between the young participants and the elderly residents, fostering mutual understanding.
"Allow them to have that empathy for our elders, and also allowing our elders to see the young people in a different space,” Moore said.
The efforts of Ladies Under Construction are funded by a grant from the Central Indiana Senior Fund, which supports programs for low to moderate-income older adults in the region.
This summer, the girls will also be paired with residents at two other facilities, extending their outreach and impact within the community.
