Join us for an inspiring conversation about aging, advocacy, and the arts with Sheila Bassoppo-Moyo!

In this episode of Conversations on Aging, Sheila and Zoomcatchers Host, Kimberly Gunn explore the intersection of healthy aging, civil rights advocacy, and creative expression. Sheila shares her journey from teaching chair yoga at her local YMCA to becoming a full-time advocate for older adults in St. Louis.

What You'll Learn: • How to stay active and engaged as you age • The importance of legislative advocacy for senior rights • Creative housing solutions like the Village concept • Overcoming ageism and maintaining a positive mindset • The power of theater and storytelling in the aging community

Key Topics Covered: ✓ Physical and mental wellness for seniors ✓ The Silver Haired Legislature and policy change ✓ Challenges facing older adults: housing, transportation, healthcare ✓ Caregiving experiences and self-care ✓ The intersection of civil rights and elder rights ✓ Multi-generational mentoring and community building ✓ Theater as a tool for advocacy and connection

About Sheila Bassoppo-Moyo:

Sheila is an older adult coordinator, health educator, and playwright based in St. Louis. She teaches classes on Tai Chi, balance, nutrition, and healthy aging while actively advocating for legislation that supports older adults.

Her award-winning play "Sister Suffragists and the Harlem Hell Fighter" celebrates Black history and women's rights.

Watch Sheila's Play: Find "Sister Suffragist and the Harlem Hell Fighter" on Zoomcatchers' YouTube channel:

https://youtu.be/Cscz-MO0xzc

Connect with us: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD46GgMnP-pf2lIyjjjm0TaRZSaRQ50eB&si=xEZ6A_QNsLTDZ2Bt

thefsww.org

Aging #SeniorCare #HealthyAging #ElderAdvocacy #Ageism #Caregiving #CivilRights #TheaterArts #AgingInPlace #SeniorLiving #MentalHealth #CommunityBuilding

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Thank you so much for joining

us today for Conversations on

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Aging with Sheila Basa Moyo.

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Sheila, how are you doing today?

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I'm doing fantastic, Kimberly.

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It's so good to see you.

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It's so good to see you too.

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And it's good to see you in a

different context 'cause I'm so used

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to seeing you, uh, with your plays

and online and in another, in another

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situation and we'll get to that.

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Um, but now that I've introduced you,

please tell us more about yourself and

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how did you get into the elder care space?

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Okay.

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Well, um, I am originally from St.

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Louis and I have traveled about

the world and coming back to St.

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Louis to be with my family in my

neighborhood was a wonderful YMCA and I

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was just so amazed that there was this

beautiful complex in my neighborhood.

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So I went up to the Y and asked

them if I could teach a chair

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yoga class, and they said, sure.

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And in doing that I met with many

of my peers who are older adults and

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it was just a fantastic experience.

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So I ended up, besides teaching

cheer yoga, I ended up being a

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part-time older adult coordinator.

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That was my title.

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And I planned different

activities or seniors.

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And we met once a week.

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We had quite a few older adults there.

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As a matter of fact, I ended up being

also the secretary for our group.

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Our group is known as active older

Adults, a OA, and it still exists today.

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I started at the YMCA in

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We had as much as 300 older adults in

our database, but with the pandemic

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we lost a few people and that

number kind of dissipated over time.

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So our numbers have decreased since then,

but that's pretty much how I got started

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in working with older adults, which

is what I do now on a full-time basis.

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I work with older adults.

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Awesome.

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So it just kind of started out sounds

like on a, on a whim and, and here you

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already made a career out of it, you

know, what was it that led you from,

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okay, I'm just helping out with chair

yoga now into a profession where you're

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doing it, um, on a full-time basis

and you're doing it with, you know,

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intentions and goals and missions.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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And I'll say, not only am I involved with

the physical aspect of healthy aging, um,

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I teach classes like Tai Chi discussion

classes where I combine conversations

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and discussions about health, healthy

eating, and, uh, how to communicate

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with your healthcare professional.

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We talk about fear of falling.

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I, I teach classes on balance, and

it's just taught me quite a bit.

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It has made me more conscious of, of being

an older adult and, and more sensitive

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to the issues that older adults face.

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So not only.

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Do I do the health education classes,

but I also advocate for legislation

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that is relevant to older adults.

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This one group that I'm involved in is

called the Silver Haired Legislature, and

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the silver haired legislature actually

started here in the state of Missouri.

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Um, uh, and I think we're in about

10 other states where we're not

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throughout the country yet, but

it's a group of volunteers who meet

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and we go to the state capitol, we

actually go into the legislature.

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We go through the whole process

of how do you propose a bill.

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How do you follow that bill through the

legislature until it's passed and we

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talk to our legislators or senators,

our representatives, and we push

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legislation that helps older adults.

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For example, we were quite instrumental

in getting the medical marijuana

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bill passed here in Missouri.

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Uh, we just Oh, wow.

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Found another piece of legislation

dealing with the personal property tax

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so that if you are 60 or 65, I can't

remember which, I think it's 65 in your

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property, tax stays at the one level.

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Even though your, the property

values increase, your tax will

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stay, uh, at the same level.

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So we were able to get that passed

and, uh, so we, we do quite a.

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Things of that nature.

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Another thing that I'm involved

in is basically just distributing

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information to help older adults.

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Thank you so much for that.

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And, and I'm curious, was it that as far

as, you know, going from teaching classes

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and on healthy living to then actively

pursuing, uh, helping on the legislative

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side, how did you make that leap?

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Was it things that you noticed were, was

it gaps that you noticed in the system?

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Was it your own personal experience?

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If you could elaborate more

on that, that'd be great.

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Okay.

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How did I make that leap?

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Well.

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And I asked because there's a lot of

people, you know, in the, in the field

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and there's a lot of people raising,

you know, questions and alarms about it.

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But how did you specifically say, you

know, what, there's this part of it

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here that needs to be addressed as well.

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Was it just other people were,

were bringing those issues to

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you or things that you noticed

on your own or a combination?

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That's a good question.

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I would say it's a combination of

things, you know, um, I've always

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been civically minded and tried to

listen and get my information from

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different sources, newspapers, radio,

television, media, social media.

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And with my particular job as

well, I, you know, I have an

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opportunity to, uh, be involved and

meet with people who are involved.

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Issues of legislation.

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Uh, it's just keeping your eyes open and

seeing, blah, how can I be of service?

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And fortunately, this position that I

have allows me to become more actively

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involved also with, um, finding ways to

really bring about meaningful change.

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So I think that's what got me involved.

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And, and of course being a, a child

of the civil rights movements,

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you know, that has always played

heavily in, in things that I do.

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I can remember when I was a young kid

and going to the park with my family and.

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We passed White Castle.

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I don't know if you have White Castle

written in California, but White Castle.

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I'm familiar with them from New York.

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I'm not sure if they're

here in California, but I

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know White, white Castle.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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I remember as a kid going, buying

bats restaurants, and I saw black

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men walking around picketing in

front of White Castle, and they were

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carrying a sign saying, I am a man.

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And I think I was five years old.

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And I, I said to my father, Danny,

why are, why are those wearing,

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it's so obvious that they're, man,

why are they wearing that sign?

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And, and, you know, eventually

he's explained it to me and

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I, and you know, it just.

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Dawned on me.

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Yeah.

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Okay.

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Now I understand.

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I understand that we're protesting

for our civil rights and the whole

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civil rights movement stayed with me.

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And I think that was just the early

beginnings, uh, my sense of activism

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that we all need to be involved in and

what's going on, especially in times like.

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Like these.

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No.

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And you know, I have a follow up

question to that because you know, you

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mentioned your civil rights advocacy.

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Mm-hmm.

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And I think when most of us think about

civil rights, we think of traditional

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groups, uh, underrepresented groups,

black and brown people or women.

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Um, but do you see that, you know,

there is a growing a trend to

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acknowledge senior care issues as

civil rights linked kind of a advocacy.

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If you could elaborate

on that, that'd be great.

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Oh, wow.

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Definitely.

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Especially now with Social security,

Medicare, Medicaid, all these

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issues that affect older adults.

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Housing being an issue, me

personally, dealing with just

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recently a tornado here in St.

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Louis.

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I don't know if you remember May 16th.

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I do remember that.

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We'll never forget.

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Yeah, still driving

through our neighborhoods.

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Here we are in, what is it now

or in the new year, January.

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And you still see tarp on rooftops and

people still dealing with where they're

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gonna stay or they're temporarily in

accommodation, but as far as getting their

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homes back the way they were, people are

still dealing with those, those issues.

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Being a member of the active older

adults, we have people coming

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to the Y and speaking to us, our

altar person, our councilmen.

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We're constantly being and, and

getting our representatives to be

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accountable, to explain to us what is

being done to help us older adults.

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So.

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I think more and more of our organizations

are stepping up because if we know

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George Food's gonna do it for us.

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So we have now the number of Americans,

65 and olders been going up nationwide.

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And um, so we have, I think the census

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about 23% of the US population will be

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So I think as our numbers increase,

we're gonna have more and more people

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advocating for the rights of older adults.

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A hundred percent.

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And you know, I think also, um,

as more and more people, uh.

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Have to take care of elderly or

are impacted by, um, elder needs,

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you know, there's gonna be more

of a sense of what are we doing?

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And that's really the reason

why I started this podcast.

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I was a caregiver for,

uh, my elderly Aunt Uhhuh.

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And for about eight years we did that.

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And, um, throughout that, that

whole time, you know, we were

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having to advocate for her.

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And I learned so much

about what was going on.

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Things that I honestly would've never have

known had I not been in that situation.

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That's great.

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That's great.

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And I was really starting to understand

that that block of the population mm-hmm.

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Um, I felt like their needs

weren't necessarily being addressed

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in a manner that was always

where they were being heard.

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Right.

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And I felt that as a society,

you know, we tend to not really.

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Care about that segment of, of the

population as much as we should.

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We're a very youth-oriented society.

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And I just, I, it was ama, I was really

amazed and I, I ran into all kinds

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of stumbling blocks with insurance

and all kinds of issues, and I kind

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of felt like, oh, I'm the only one.

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And then that was another

eye-opening revelation.

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It's like there's millions of people

dealing with this and millions more

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are gonna continue to deal with

it, and we're living longer, so

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we're all gonna be dealing with it,

either your own family or friends.

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And so I was wondering if you

could, you know, speak to that.

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What sort of trends are you seeing

as far as this issue is concerned?

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Well, um, let me, let me back up a

little bit and tell you how much I

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identify with what you just said.

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I, myself, I am currently and have been

a caregiver for my brother and sister,

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which also makes me more sensitive.

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Two older adults and the disabled.

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I have three siblings, three other

siblings we're all under the same roof.

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I never thought I would be

back living with, with my

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siblings under the same roof.

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But anyway, two of my siblings

have have been diagnosed, paranoid,

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schizophrenic, and just going to the

hospital to take my sister to see

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her psychiatrist was a eyeopener.

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You would think that being in a healthcare

setting, that you wouldn't run into

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discrimination, but I saw it with my

own eyes that how my sister was treated.

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Um, if I had not been there to speak

up for her, there's a lot to be done

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as far as the rights of the disabled.

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And when you are an older person

and disabled, you got a, a

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double women, you got a triple

whammy being a person of color.

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Uh, as well, I had the experience

being with my sister one time.

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Uh, she was not having a very good day,

but we went to see her psychiatrist

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and we were at the doctor's office.

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She was having an episode at the

doctor's office, and it was a new

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doctor that she was meeting, and

I was accustomed to her behavior.

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But at the end of the session

when we were about to leave.

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I opened the door to, to push my sister

out when she was in a wheelchair,

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and there were two guards, two

guards standing outside the door.

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So the doctor, I guess he was

feeling uncomfortable, but he

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felt he had to call security.

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And I turned to him and I said,

what, what can this 70-year-old

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woman in a wheelchair do to you that

you felt you had to call security?

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And, you know, but anyway, I was,

I was just really upset about it.

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And actually I talked to a couple of

other health professionals who told

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me I should have followed up with

that complaint to somebody higher

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at the hospital that I, you know, I

never did, but it's just something

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that stepped with me in terms of.

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What you were saying, that if

you don't speak up for your

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loved one, who's gonna do it?

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You, I, and so now I, I try my best

to speak up and not hold that back.

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First of all, the, the trends that I

notice is that there's lack of housing,

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lack of options for older or adults

also, I, I think that we do need more

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options, more creative options on how

to deal with the scarcity of that.

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There's also a greater need for a

transportation here in the city of St.

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Louis.

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We're constantly doing calls about

transportation on people needing

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transportation with those, a

grocery store or go to the doctor.

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So there's not enough of that.

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And I guess.

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Even health disparities is

an issue, especially with

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people of color, older adults.

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I do health education classes.

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Um, I'm really feel blessed that I can

do that because a lot of our seniors

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have health conditions like diabetes

or obesity, heart disease, asthma, and

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so there's a need for greater education

in terms of health, proper eating.

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And you, I live in N Site,

Bullis and Nerve Site.

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Louis is predominantly black, low income

area and on every corner you see fried

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chicken restaurants, McDonald's, taco

Bell, you know, so many fast food places.

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Then, you know, structurally

our society makes it so hard.

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You work eight to five or eight

to six or whatever it means you go

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home, you don't feel like cooking.

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So a lot of people stop off and

just grab what they can grab.

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You know, they gotta pick

up the kids from daycare.

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I don't know how young couples make it

really, how do they relate to each other?

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There's no time to even be a family.

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You know what I mean?

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So, no, it's, no, it's true.

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It's true.

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And I, and I wanted to just backtrack

a little bit based on some of the

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things that you just brought up.

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And I think, you know, you

mentioned transportation as, as

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issues and, and housing as issues.

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And, you know, it, it just.

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Feels like, or I get the sense now

I've been talking about these issues

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in my own personal experiences, taking

care of our aunt, that as a society,

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we just haven't really thought through

all of what, what it means to have a

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population where people are living longer.

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Some of them are gonna be in, in good

health and, and many of them aren't.

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It's, it's sort of like, if you go back 40

years ago, what the people were probably,

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you know, making it to retirement.

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I don't have the facts and figures,

but people weren't, we weren't

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living as long as we are now.

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Right.

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And definitely not as healthy.

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So you have active people that

are still out there wanting to

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participate in society and what

place, what role do we have there?

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And then we have people that have,

you know, chronic illnesses and

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diseases that you brought up.

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And I know that nutrition is like a key.

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Determinant for, for healthy living in

general, but definitely for seniors.

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And it's like, well, where's the edu?

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Where's the education, the

educational component for all of this?

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Right?

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Right.

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That's, you know, I go into senior

centers, I go into apartment, but

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there's such a great need for that.

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And in our neighborhoods, we don't

have access to grocery stores.

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And then I ask myself

the question, well, why?

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Why don't we have grocery stores?

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Well, lots of reasons.

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Sometimes it's crime.

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There's high crime in in our areas.

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Grocery stores don't

wanna locate in the area.

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There's unemployment.

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Nobody wants to invest in the areas.

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And where I'm at right now.

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Even the dollar store closed down.

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So where do people get a loaf of bread?

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They gotta go to the

cornering liquor store.

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You know, that's always gonna be there.

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I doubt they'll close down.

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But anyway.

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No, it's, and it's true.

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And a lot of those issues that you

talked about are issues that, uh, not

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just elderly people are, are dealing

with, but we'll just say average people.

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But if you compound that with an elderly

person who has mobility issues, who

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has health issues, how do they get to

that store and how do they, you know,

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manage those, um, challenges that

are tricky for anybody at any age.

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And then you compound that with

those, with those other issues.

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But I, I do wanna, you know, go ahead.

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See one more being also about that.

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I gotta mention that because

this man sticks in my head.

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Uh, I'll never forget him.

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His name is Greg.

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And Greg was the, uh.

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I guess you could call him

the neighborhood alcoholic.

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And I would always walk my dog in the

neighborhood and Greg would join me.

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Greg.

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One time he joined me and he

had a big mat on his head, and I

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said, grant, what happened to you?

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He says, oh, I, I fell down.

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I fell down on the curb, you know,

uh, he didn't lift his foot high

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enough to get onto the sidewalk.

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And I said, well, why

don't you use a cane?

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Just use a cane to help you.

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He says, A cane, I can't use a cane.

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I'll seem weak.

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You know, I don't want the guys in

the neighborhood to think I'm weak,

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so I, you know, can you imagine

he'd rather risk falling and die

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from his fall than to appear wink.

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Mm-hmm.

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So.

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Anyway.

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These are some of the issues that

older notes dealing with too, is

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that perception and how are they

perceived in the neighborhood.

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So, oh, a hundred percent.

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And I really appreciate you bringing

that up because I had similar issues

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with our aunt before she passed away.

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And she had canes and then she also

had a walker and she would get training

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on how to, you know, use the walker

and maneuver it from occupational

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therapists and things of that nature.

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And we were always encouraging her.

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And it came out in conversations

where she would say, you know, I

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hate the walker because she just

hated the way it made her look.

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She felt like, right.

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She looked old.

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And you know, we were always

trying to say, this is a tool.

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This is, you know, this is

gonna help you not fall.

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Right.

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This is gonna support you.

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It's gonna make us feel comfortable.

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'cause we know that you

have that, that support.

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But for her, it indicated that

she was frail and she was old.

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Right.

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And it was such a big

psychological jump for her.

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Um, to make.

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And I had, you know, I didn't really

know other people had that thought.

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I haven't really talked to other

people about that specifically,

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but it's interesting and I think

that's a part of the education.

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It's like, listen, you wanna

fall and bust your head open.

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Exactly.

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And, and this is why also Kimberly, what

you're doing is so important because you

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are helping to dispel that myth of age.

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Well, ageism is not a

myth, it's a reality.

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We are dealing with the discrimination of

aging and is internal as well as external.

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People feel ly, I am not worthy.

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I want to stay invisible

because I'm aging and.

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I have a sister who's, she's 80 years

old, and when I'm driving down the

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street and she's in the passenger

side, she'll look out the window and

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she'll say, oh, look at that one.

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And then she's got those granny

hands on and I'm going, Jackie,

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that is you, you are that woman.

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You know?

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So it's, it's like we not only have to

overcome the ageism of our minds, uh, but

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we have to deal with, you know, constantly

being bombarded with these commercials

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of what is beauty, that having wrinkles

or having gray hair is not beautiful.

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And that is why I am so grateful

for my work experience, for my

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personal experience of being

involved with older adults because.

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I want to enjoy these years.

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I feel, I feel so alive and active and

vibrant, and I have so much to give

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and I, I really do not feel a sense

of negativity when it comes to aging.

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I really don't.

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And, um, I just wish other people would

feel that way, but I think it's changing.

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I think it's changing, but still,

I run into people that really

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struggle, really struggle with that.

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Mm-hmm.

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I, I agree.

390

And, and I appreciate you bringing

that up because, you know, I feel

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the same way and I feel that,

you know, taking care of my aunt.

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It was a huge blessing in disguise.

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It was challenging and difficult and, you

know, frustrating at times, dealing with

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a lot of those things that I mentioned.

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But at the same time, it was so insightful

and I learned so much about how to

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care for somebody kind of selflessly

how to really support somebody.

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Um, I learned about myself, you know, the

kind of patience that I had had that I

398

had in my own heart and hope, hoping that,

you know, I can take that information and,

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and put it out there for other people.

400

Um, because Right, we're all aging.

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If, if we're lucky enough, we're

aging right first there's that.

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Exactly.

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Exactly.

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And so, and, and, and the important

thing also to remember is you

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have to take care of yourself.

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You have to take care of

yourself as a caregiver.

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And that's something that I have

to learn that, um, you know.

408

I felt that I had to do so

much for my brother and sister.

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I had to, you know, I had been given

this opportunity of getting an education.

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I got my college degrees.

411

I have, and I had really a guilt trip,

but I had to come out of that and try

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not to make my siblings dependent on me.

413

And that is something that a

caregiver, you have to kind balance.

414

You gotta balance, you gotta take

care of yourself, which actually also

415

try to take care of your loved one.

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You gotta find some balance.

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There is what is important to, yeah.

418

A hundred percent.

419

I mean, it's all about balance and,

and making sure your needs are met.

420

But also, you know, I think for

me, what I really dialed into with,

421

with taking care of her and also

being now interested in this topic

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is I'm looking at my own future.

423

Right?

424

It's like, okay, so what do I

need to do to make my golden years

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smooth and, and, uh, glistening?

426

Because it doesn't all

have to be a, a sad story.

427

Exactly.

428

I think you're right.

429

A big part of it is psychological.

430

It's like, I have, I'm so glad that I,

like you don't have that kind of hangup.

431

I'm like, oh my God, I'm getting old.

432

I'm like, this is the best I

have felt my whole entire life.

433

Yeah.

434

I don't wanna go back.

435

I, I'm not going back.

436

I'm moving forward.

437

Healthy.

438

That you're moving, sorry.

439

And how can I move forward?

440

Feeling great and being healthy

and being excited and, and, and,

441

and doing the best that I can.

442

Still make contributions

to my society, right?

443

And remembering that you have

to take care of yourself now.

444

Right now.

445

Don't wait until some future time to

say, oh, I'm gonna get up out of this

446

chair and I'm gonna walk tomorrow.

447

Tomorrow.

448

Start now Ana.

449

And oh, by the way, you, you just

triggered something in my mind.

450

I just joined a book club and we're

reading a book for, on preparing

451

for your retirement as a solo age.

452

I have no children and I am divorced.

453

And I think there's a large segment

of the aging population that don't

454

have children and don't have someone

that they can fall back on, you know?

455

So.

456

What are some of the alternatives

and steps for those folks

457

who are aging as solo ages?

458

And I think joining book clubs and

things like that to discuss these issues

459

with other seniors is, is helpful.

460

So as you know, a hundred

percent being with caregivers,

461

you know, I'm doing the same.

462

A hundred percent.

463

I think that, you know, the other

realities a lot of people are

464

waking up too, is just because

you have children doesn't mean

465

they're gonna be caring for you.

466

And I think Exactly.

467

You know, um, a lot of people

unfortunately have found that out and they

468

can't for all kinds of reasons, right?

469

Right.

470

And so you, it's a matter of, well,

how do I continue to extend my life in

471

the, in the healthiest way possible?

472

I know a lot of people don't

wanna be a burden to other people.

473

And I think, you know, in my conversations

with, with you and other people, it's just

474

really a matter of having conversations.

475

Like, when do you need to sit down and

have these conversations and say, these

476

are things that scare me about aging.

477

These are things that I embrace

because I think, you know, there are

478

some things to be concerned about.

479

We do live in a society where elder

care is not necessarily first and

480

foremost considered a priority.

481

Um.

482

And it, you know, just having

these conversations, I'm

483

seeing more and more of it.

484

I, I definitely am, but I, I

think a lot of people in positions

485

of, let's say power, I think

they're afraid of their own aging.

486

You know, talking about aging doesn't

even seem to be a conversation

487

that a lot of people wanna have.

488

And I think it's a personal reason

why not, because, oh my God, we

489

should be doing this for society.

490

They don't wanna look at their own aging.

491

And so age, if you're not, yeah.

492

And, and, and that's, that's, that's fine.

493

But if you're in a position

where you actually could make

494

change, it's kind of concerning.

495

Yeah.

496

Because it's not going away.

497

Right, exactly.

498

And I, you know, I also look at it from

an international, uh, perspective because,

499

you know, I've had the opportunity

to live in Zimbabwe for 10 years and.

500

To see how older adults are treated in

Africa, and I've had the opportunity

501

to work in Asia, and in both

cultures I find that older adults

502

are revered, held in high esteem.

503

I'm just really grateful that I've had

that opportunity to experience that,

504

and I think that has also helped to

reinforce my perceptions and, and not let

505

the, those negative thoughts, you know,

come into my mind about growing old.

506

So I, I'm really grateful for that.

507

At the same time, I can see in African

society, modern African society, that they

508

also deal with those stereotypes as well.

509

It creeps in, you know, even over

there in other countries, you know?

510

Mm-hmm.

511

Awesome.

512

Well, thank you so much for,

for being on and discussing

513

these, these important topics.

514

And, and I do wanna talk about

like, senior living options.

515

I know that you have you involved in that

and you know, I don't know if a lot of

516

people are even aware of that, but if

you could explain, you know, some senior

517

living communities, what are you seeing as

far as trends and things of that nature?

518

Okay, well, um, senior Living

Options, I'm involved with an

519

organization called the St.

520

Louis Village.

521

St.

522

Louis Village is, um, a group, um,

volunteers in a certain geographical area.

523

Um, St.

524

Louis.

525

Uh, the Village concept is not new, it's

throughout the country, but here in St.

526

Louis.

527

It is a group that I'm involved with.

528

I'm on the board, volunteers who help

neighbors, neighbors, helping neighbors

529

to help people to stay in their homes.

530

That is the main goal of the village

concept, and we get donations and

531

grants and have put together a

directory of different resources.

532

We refer contractors, plumbers, companies.

533

You can always ask people for referrals.

534

If you need transportation to see

your doctor, you can hook into

535

the network and call activities.

536

We have different activities where

we get together and get to know each

537

other, so that is one organization that

helps to keep adults in their homes.

538

And just on a personal level, there

are assisted living options for older

539

adults, you know, based on their income.

540

Um, one thing that I've

noticed, of course here in St.

541

Louis and I'm nationwide, is

rents are going up and up and up.

542

So some options that older adults

have been exploring are house sharing,

543

for example, I know people that have

done that and who have tried to deal

544

with the housing shortage that way

because rents are so astronomical.

545

I think that the village

concept is a, is a good one.

546

And house sharing is a good one too.

547

Absolutely.

548

And I, I think, um.

549

You know, I've heard a lot and

I still hear people talking

550

about multi-family living where

they have different generations.

551

Oh yeah.

552

I mean, people have been doing that

obviously for a long time, but making

553

it more openly talked about, you

know, and, and pursued because, you

554

know, their reality is people wanna,

here, we call it aging in place,

555

you know, people wanna age mm-hmm.

556

In their home.

557

Um, especially if they're not

ill, you know, if they don't

558

need medical care and mm-hmm.

559

And that's the way it was with our aunt.

560

She wanted to be here in, in her

home until the very end, and we were

561

able to make that happen for her, so.

562

Oh, that's great.

563

Really happy about that.

564

Mm-hmm.

565

Yeah.

566

Um, not only that, you back, but not

everyone, not everyone can do that.

567

Right, right, right.

568

And, and when older adults, and

I know from experience, you wanna

569

stay in your home, but you're

staying usually in a home that.

570

You've been in the years and

years and years that needs repair.

571

And if you live in an area that is

predominantly low income, it's hard

572

to even get a contractor to come in

and rehab or fix problems because

573

they're afraid that they're gonna

be robbed or attacked or whatever.

574

So it's almost like I, I can't even

tell you how many times I have called

575

a repair person to come to my house.

576

And when they learn where I

live, they call me back and

577

say, oh, ma'am, I'm sorry.

578

You know, I got another call.

579

I'll, I'll check with you tomorrow.

580

And they never call me.

581

You know?

582

Mm-hmm.

583

These are the kind of problems

that we're dealing with, you

584

know, that's another reason why we

can't keep up our homes, you know?

585

So those are issues.

586

Right.

587

And it's just, and you end up having

to deal with somebody that you wouldn't

588

ordinarily deal with because nobody else

is gonna come over and fix your house.

589

Mm-hmm.

590

You know, you have to deal with criminals.

591

Mm-hmm.

592

And that obviously exposes people

to, to elements that they don't

593

wanna, they didn't necessarily

want to, uh, engage with.

594

Right.

595

Just, I just want my, uh,

just want my roof fixed.

596

Right.

597

Not all this other stuff.

598

Right.

599

That's right.

600

You know?

601

Well, and then that I, I think that's

another issue of people seeking to

602

take advantage of elders, whether

it's through services of all kinds.

603

And it's something to, to obviously

think about and especially if people,

604

contractors or whoever see an older

person and they don't think there's

605

anybody else around that's got their

back or something, you know, it's just

606

more, more reason why people, we all

need to be kind of sticking together

607

and saying, not over here my friend.

608

You're not gonna be doing that over here.

609

I mean, and I had to, you know,

just personally, I had to go to my

610

go to bat for my aunt on multiple

occasions just about this very issue.

611

And it's like, well, if I

don't say anything, who is

612

going to, nobody's going to?

613

And so, in, in so many ways, it actually

helped me kind of strengthen my own

614

voice and my own, uh, wherewithal, right?

615

To make things happen.

616

Yeah.

617

Yeah.

618

And the situation, I guess in St.

619

Louis is, and Tom piled in, becomes

of our recent tornado disaster.

620

And for those folks like myself who only

they're on hold and, uh, contractors

621

know that they have the offer hand

and try to get somebody to come over.

622

And, and if you're, like I said, in

a certain neighborhood, it is doubly

623

hard to get somebody to come over.

624

So anyway, but there are some good people

out there and, you know, some people

625

have been able to get things done and get

their homes with, so it's, it is been,

626

it's been a blessing for some people.

627

So I won't say it is not,

it's not been all bad.

628

So some people are getting their

homes repaired and taken care of.

629

2%.

630

And there are a lot of great, great people

out there that, you know, care about doing

631

a good job regardless of the age of the,

of the client and things of that nature.

632

So hats off to them, but we're, you know,

we're talking about issues that that

633

many people face and this is one of them.

634

Um, so as far as just a question

about the, the village, the villages

635

that you described, is it, are they

paying, are people paying like a

636

monthly fee to be a part of it?

637

How does that part work?

638

Well, there, there is membership,

I'm just trying to remember.

639

I've been so long since I, we looked

at the membership I Oh, that's okay.

640

There's some type of membership that

people have to, there is a membership fee.

641

Yeah.

642

Okay.

643

And because of the funding, there is

funding from grants as well as donations.

644

The village has been labeled the lower

membership to try to make it more

645

representative of the community and to,

uh, bring more income Chico into the.

646

Into the village.

647

So, um, excellent.

648

So yeah, ke keep up the good work

and that, and I know that, you know,

649

we have those kinds of villages

out here in California as well.

650

I'm, I'm assuming that they're pretty

much probably in all the states at

651

this point are getting there, so.

652

Great.

653

And what city are you in now?

654

You're in San We're in, uh, the Bay Area.

655

We're in the Bay Area.

656

Mm-hmm.

657

And so we have a couple, I've

researched, you know, seen them

658

here, um, and in other places.

659

So, you know, I know it's a, a trend and

I know there's gonna be more of these

660

types of situations because people,

they wanna be in their own homes, but

661

they need, you know, support, obviously

they don't wanna move into one of those

662

other types of senior living places.

663

And so it's all about creating

options for people, I think,

664

and, and keeping people's safety.

665

And at the forefront, Aspen, um, village

concept is overcoming social isolation.

666

People getting to know each other,

getting to know your neighbors,

667

taking care of your neighbor.

668

It's been great in that sense.

669

You know, I just attended a New

Year's Eve party and we had, um, I

670

don't know, hundreds of people there.

671

So it's, it's a good concept.

672

I hope that, you know, that

concept spreads even more.

673

We need to need something like that.

674

A hundred percent.

675

A hundred percent.

676

Because it, it's not just, you

know, seniors, but, um, society.

677

Our society in general has real

issues with social isolation and.

678

Keeping people connected

and things like that, so.

679

Great.

680

And we've been here with, we are

here with Sheila Papo Moyo, and we're

681

talking about all, all kinds of things

related to senior living and aging.

682

And you know, before we transition

to, into talking about theater and

683

art, 'cause that's how we met, what

are your top five or your top tips

684

for healthy living for seniors?

685

Okay.

686

My top tips, I would say it's

important to stay active.

687

It's important to stay active, physically

active, take care of your body.

688

Exercise, exercise, exercise, drink,

plan a of water, and stay connected.

689

Stay connected with your social group,

your peers, uh, not only your peers,

690

but younger adults, you know, mentoring.

691

If you can, I listen to some of my.

692

Colleagues and they talk about, oh,

you just wanna travel, you know,

693

we're done raising our kids now.

694

We just wanna have fun.

695

Well, I think that's all well and good,

but we have to mentor our children.

696

We have to.

697

That is something that,

that we just gotta do it.

698

We have to, you know, the suicide

rate amongst, especially young black

699

men is higher than any other group.

700

So our children need us.

701

Um, so I would say to try to find it in,

in one's heart, to mentor young people.

702

I think it's important to be passionate,

be passionate about something,

703

something you really love, and you

wake up in the morning thinking

704

about it and stay involved with that.

705

So be passionate and be positive.

706

Be positive.

707

Don't let anybody try to put you

down and make you feel less than

708

what you are because of age.

709

And if anybody does that, then just check

'em outta your life and keep moving.

710

So keep it moving.

711

It's keeping, I don't know if that's

five things, but anyway, that's what

712

I, that's those are, those are great.

713

Whatever the number is.

714

And you know, it, it's interesting that

you bring that, that last point up.

715

I remember it was some point, I dunno if

it was this year or last year, the oldest

716

living American, I think passed away and

she was like 107 or something like that.

717

And prior to her passing away, she

had been interviewed and one of

718

the questions was, well, what's

the secret to her longevity?

719

And the first thing she said

was Getting rid of toxic people.

720

Oh, oh, yeah.

721

Not have, not having toxic negative

people because it's, it's stress, it's,

722

it's not uplifting, it's not supportive.

723

And you don't even have to

be older to get to get that.

724

It's like, why have people around

that are trying to bring you down?

725

Or Dr.

726

And they may not e even intentionally

be doing that, but just the

727

energy that they're putting out

there in general is negative.

728

So I'm with her on that.

729

I'm like, I, I sense

get a whiff of toxicity.

730

It's over.

731

I know.

732

Uh, I'm not even trying

to help you or Correct.

733

You we're done.

734

'cause I don't have time for it.

735

I know.

736

Oh, okay.

737

I got another thing.

738

I have adopted, well, they don't

know it yet, but I've adopted some

739

young folks in their twenties.

740

And as a result of my, uh, you know, my

ex passed away a couple of weeks ago,

741

and so I've gotten a lot of phone calls.

742

Yeah, sorry to hear about that.

743

Well, thank you.

744

I got a lot of phone calls from Africa,

and in a way it has opened up these

745

new pathways to reconnect with people,

and I'm just so excited about it.

746

These new opportunities that are springing

up, reconnecting with people that I

747

haven't talked to in my 20, 30 years.

748

And so I'm excited about that too.

749

Awesome.

750

That is, that is great to hear

about connections and reconnecting

751

with, with old, older, old people.

752

Mm-hmm.

753

Awesome.

754

So let's talk about art and theater

and, you know, our connection.

755

And I know that you have also been working

in that space, a theater, art space.

756

Yeah.

757

And you believe in theater arts for,

you know, as a positive, having a

758

positive impact on, um, elderly people.

759

So if you could talk more

about that, that'd be great.

760

Okay.

761

Well, let's see what, what got me started

and that I went to see a show in St.

762

Louis and, uh, uh, this

guy from Chicago came.

763

We contacted all the different

churches on soap tickets to the show,

764

and I came and the house was packed.

765

We were so excited to be there.

766

And I would say 80% of

the OS was older adults.

767

And one skit that he put on the stage

was involved Emmett Hill, and he tried

768

to turn it into a satire or a comedy.

769

I was appalled that he would do that.

770

And I looked around the, the people

around me, nobody was laughing.

771

It fell flat.

772

And I said, I can do better than that.

773

I can do better than that.

774

And so that is what got me thinking

about theater and how important it is

775

to tell our stories and to be honest

in, in a truthful, respectful way.

776

And I, um, um, was, uh, and I am a

member of the American Association of

777

the University Women and was asked to

do some research on a suffragist, and I

778

found information on a black suffragist

just wanted to do and highlight her

779

life and, and let people know about her.

780

I refused to let her die.

781

And that's when the play, I wrote the play

and it's opened up different doors and

782

I started my theater group with a friend

of mine and we're just forging ahead.

783

It's the theater group is called

Black Aging Arts Theater and focusing

784

on older adults and trying to learn

more about performance skills and

785

acting and directing, but dancing.

786

And that's how it kind of jumped off.

787

Awesome, awesome.

788

And you know, Sheila's being

very modest here, so We'll, uh,

789

we'll, we'll expand on that.

790

So you, so the play started out, it was

what, 20 some odd pages and it was first

791

read at the International Black Theater

Festival, which, um, at the, the Garland

792

Thompson Senior Readers, uh, uh, series.

793

And, and then it, and, and

it went over pretty well.

794

And then after when, what year was

that, that you first read that?

795

That was, uh, 2024.

796

Was it 2024?

797

Yes.

798

2024.

799

We're in 2026.

800

I'm sorry.

801

Now, so the theater festival was

every two years, so I'm going

802

back to 2024 thinking it was 2024.

803

It was, yeah.

804

I think because they didn't do it during

the pandemic, so it must have been 20, 24.

805

Yeah.

806

I think so.

807

And so it was about 20 pages.

808

Yeah.

809

And, uh, so read that and everybody

seemed to be very excited about it.

810

And then I took some of the classes

with the Frank Vera workshop

811

with Vera, professor there,

Katz from Howard University.

812

Yes.

813

Mm-hmm.

814

Yes.

815

The legend, Dr.

816

Kat, the legend.

817

Right.

818

And so we continue to work on it.

819

That one thing I've learned about working

on a, a play is that it is a collaborative

820

effort and constantly growing,

constantly changing, and how important

821

it is to get feedback on the play.

822

So here in St.

823

Louis, I have put the play on

and it's been well received.

824

And in a couple of months I'm

going to be given an award

825

for the play by the American

Association of the University won.

826

And so I'm excited about that.

827

It just seems like people

keep asking me about it.

828

And another church approached me and

asked me if I could perform, have

829

the plate of farm at their church.

830

And I thought that was

very nice, uh, thing to do.

831

So I'm, I'm getting more and

more experience with theater.

832

We managed to get a grant, $10,000

grant, so we're going to try to train

833

older adults in the performing arts.

834

And so we're just continuing to grow.

835

So that is, that is so exciting

to hear because we did Zoom

836

catchers in collaboration with the

Frank Survivor Writers Workshop

837

and the Bill Holiday Theater.

838

We did two presentations, two virtual

presentations of Sister Suffragists

839

and the Harlem Hell Fighter.

840

We did one.

841

Mm-hmm.

842

We did, did them both last year, the

top of last year, and then we Right.

843

Finished the season off with them.

844

They went over very well.

845

We're super excited.

846

You can watch them both on our YouTube

channel and, you know, tell us more about

847

that story or tell the audience more

about this story, and congratulations

848

on all your success with this.

849

Oh, well, thank you so much.

850

The story begins with Victoria Clay

Haley, who is Black Suffragist in St.

851

Louis.

852

We start with 1904.

853

She's married and her friend, she has two

very prominent African-American friends.

854

And this is a true story in the sense

that she knows my damn CJ Walker

855

and she also is friends with Ida B.

856

Wells.

857

So I incorporate that, those friendships

into the story of how she fights for

858

women's rights and she collaborates

and, and talks with these other two

859

very prominent women and, and the

impact that they have on each other.

860

Victoria Clay, Hailey also is,

um, they go to a meeting with

861

white suffragists and they're on a

panel with the white suffragists.

862

And so there's a scene and the

play about the exchange between

863

the black suffragists and the white

suffragists and how their interests.

864

Collide and how their interests overlap.

865

So it's the play deals with women's

rights, but not only women's rights,

866

but also the rights of Africans,

Americans, and, uh, striving to overcome

867

the discrimination and racism, the

lynching and all the violence that black

868

people had to put up with during that.

869

Um, at that time, and it was very

fascinating to me that Victoria

870

Clay Haley, uh, had encounters with

Sergeant Henry Johnson, who was

871

the same Sergeant Johnson, that

President Barack Obama gave the Medal

872

of Honor to posthumously in 2015.

873

So when I saw the connection

between those two personalities.

874

I said, wow, this is a play.

875

Light bulbs went off, right?

876

Yeah, fireworks went off.

877

So fireworks went off.

878

Uh, she, um, so the play involves,

uh, quite a bit of history, St.

879

Louis history and Victoria Clay,

Haley's involvement with Sergeant

880

Henry Johnson and the things that

he experienced during World War I.

881

And he comes to St.

882

Louis and he describes his experience.

883

And, uh, basically the play just deals

with, so not only women's rights, but

884

also the rights of black military.

885

At that time as well, so I don't

wanna give away everything,

886

but that's what it was.

887

You can, you can learn more.

888

Yeah.

889

You can go watch it on Zoom's

YouTube, you can go watch it.

890

YouTube channel Sister Suff

and the Harlem Hell Fighter.

891

Um, it was a, a great experience,

you know, working with you on that,

892

getting that, bringing it to life

and also, um, seeing how it was

893

coming together and with, you know,

Vera's coaching and mentoring.

894

And so, um, you know, we've fortunately

been able to work in, in different

895

capacities and it's so exciting to

see, you know, you take this concept,

896

you're experiencing something in a

theater and you're like, you know

897

what, I can do better than this.

898

And, and here you are.

899

So, so just being with the Frank

Silvera workshop and Vera has been so

900

exciting and has helped me to grow.

901

You know, and to help the play

to even blossom even more.

902

So I'm really grateful to have

the experience of knowing you

903

and knowing Garland Thomas and

also Vera has, it is been a great

904

experience and I'm grateful for that.

905

Awesome.

906

And, and we're so grateful that, you

know, you brought the play to us because

907

it was, you know, we're interested in

supporting playwrights that have, uh,

908

topics or, uh, characters that you don't

often hear about, should be heard about.

909

And also we appreciate the historical

perspective that you, you took and yeah.

910

Congratulations on all of

your success with that.

911

And, um, what kind of, you know, as

someone who, you didn't come up as

912

a playwright, but, but you are now,

what, what advice would you have for,

913

you know, up and coming playwrights

or people that I got this idea,

914

but I don't know where to start.

915

What advice would you have for them?

916

I would say just.

917

Start writing and researching and stay

passionate, excited about your ideal.

918

Keep notebooks, keep journals,

keep digging and being

919

excited about your, your work.

920

I think that's the my advice to people.

921

I think just living and sleeping

with your ideal, that's important.

922

'cause it keeps it alive.

923

Mm-hmm.

924

Awesome.

925

And be open to be open to

criticism, constructive criticism.

926

I think that's important too.

927

And not wanting to hold it so close.

928

You know, sometimes you feel like,

oh, this is my baby, this is my baby.

929

But I think you've gotta also

kind of let it be open to other

930

people's thoughts, ideals.

931

Ultimately you make the decision finally.

932

But that one should try

to keep an open mind.

933

I think that's important.

934

I think that's great advice.

935

I mean, we, you know, we, we often

say that it's, you know, people

936

are kind of precious about, about

their work and rightfully so.

937

Um, but at the same time, it's like,

you know, if, if you're just writing

938

a play that you, you just wanna

read yourself, that's one thing.

939

But if you're writing a play, you

want audiences to come and see,

940

well, that's a whole nother story.

941

And you as a, you know, going through

this process, working with you

942

and other playwrights, it's really

important to keep in mind, well, what

943

is the audience gonna think of this?

944

Yeah.

945

What do they take away from this?

946

Are they getting it?

947

It's in my head.

948

But is it translating?

949

Because otherwise, you know, you're,

you're not gonna be able to get

950

the story out in, in the most,

um, strong in the strongest way.

951

Right.

952

In the strongest way.

953

Yeah.

954

And I, I would say as a new playwright, I.

955

Struggle with trying to be open

to other ideals and, uh, I think

956

it's important to ask questions.

957

Ask questions, and to get advice from

people that you trust that are in that

958

space that you're trying to be a part of,

and to try to educate yourself as well

959

on how you protect your work as far as

copyrights and things like that, you know?

960

So I think that's

important is also awesome.

961

Great.

962

We've been here with Sheila Babo.

963

Moyo and we have covered

a lot of territory.

964

I really appreciate you being on.

965

I know you're busy.

966

And what is coming up

967

Either in the, the senior

care space or your, your work?

968

The other work?

969

Well, I would say I

have a lot of interests.

970

Uh, my interest also expands

to the international scene.

971

I'm involved with

972

the International Institute of

African Scholars and that is a group

973

of people from the diaspora and how

I can expand my love of the arts

974

through that organization and also

expand the Black Aging Arts Theater.

975

Uh, see where that is going to take us.

976

We're gonna have, I know for

sure we're gonna have two

977

performance soon before April.

978

So we're preparing for that.

979

So that will happen in 2026.

980

And I would like to help other older

adults, uh, in their love with theater.

981

So I,

982

I see myself as being a facilitator in

helping them and furthering the mission of

983

our theater group, which is training, uh,

collaboration, uh, both on a multicultural

984

as well as multi-generational level, uh,

with the focus always on older adults.

985

So that is what I see.

986

Yeah.

987

But, but like I said, really trying

to bring in that international piece.

988

Because I went online and I saw there's

a theater festival in South Africa.

989

I had no idea that there was a

theater festival in South Africa.

990

So I'd like to find out more about what's

going on outside of our borders, you know?

991

And that, that's excellent.

992

Uh, excellent, uh, thinking and, and great

advice and thank you so much for being

993

on and sharing, um, your, your wealth

of knowledge regarding these issues.

994

Well, thank you and we wish you

995

You can find out more

about, um, the various.

996

Uh, various agencies that Sheila is

affiliated with in the description.

997

We'll have links there.

998

You can also find out more about

FS Wws online workshops@thefww.org.

999

We do have an, um, courses coming

up this winter and into the spring,

01:05:13,524 --> 01:05:19,044

and you can also see her wonderful

play, sister Suffrages and the Harlem

01:05:19,044 --> 01:05:22,734

Hellfire on Zoom catcher's YouTube

channel, and we'll see you next time.

01:05:22,884 --> 01:05:23,994

Thank you and have a great day.