The Story of Clio.

 Clio’s Beginnings

In Spring of 2022, after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, our co-founders Danni, Jennifer, and Amanda set out to achieve a vision of reducing social isolation among older adults as a result of mandatory quarantines, physical distancing, and a changing pandemic world. They did this by founding WH SeniorLink! What began as a project to connect older adults living in the neighborhood of Washington Heights with volunteers quickly blossomed into providing programming for older adults across the city, collaborating with other NYC organizations, and building relationships across communities. As WH SeniorLink grew from a program to a non-profit organization, we built our capacity for participants and volunteers, brought on additional team members, and began taking on interns. After growing to accept participants from across the city, WH SeniorLink began doing business as “Clio”! This name represented the Greek muse of history, and our deep commitment to listening to the stories of those in our community.

The Clio Team

We have had the privilege of working with incredible team members during our time as an organization. Each one has had a profound impact on Clio and our community, which we could not express enough gratitude for.

Danni Spencer-Laitt

Co-Founder, Inaugural Executive Director, Board Member

Marie Spence

Program Manager, Executive Director

Dr. Mark Nathanson

Geriatric Psychiatry Consultant

Amanda Weiss

Co-Founder, Board Member

Nicole Levy

Outreach Consultant, Board President

Natalia Perez

Outreach & Development Fellow

Jennifer Strauss

Co-Founder, Board Member

Leah Steele

Development Director

Clio Programming

Pairing Program

The staple of Clio programming and foundation of the organization was our pairing program, where older adults and volunteers were paired based off of shared language and interests in order to learn about one another and form a strong relationship based on mutual care and joy. These partnerships involved weekly calls, as well as regular letters and care packages.

Service Navigation

As the pairing program grew, it began evident that there was more than just companionship that was needed. Over the course of making weekly calls, many of our volunteers learned that older adults were facing significant barriers when attempting to access things like financial support, medical services, technology, and so much more. Our service navigation program was built based on the idea that older adults know what they need and deserve support in meeting these needs in order to overcome systemic exclusions.

Group Connection & Education

Finally, we were proud to pilot both Zoom groups and workshops throughout our time as an organization to offer alternative forms of connection for our community members. In Spring of 2021, Clio hosted a virtual social group to discuss food and health. In Spring of 2022, Clio hosted two community education workshops to support increased awareness regarding information related to older adults.

Community Impact

At Clio, we have worked to be engaged in the community both through our direct service programming and by sharing our experiences as a non-profit organization. Since our inception in the Spring of 2020, we have served 73 older adults who participated in our programming, had 87 volunteers and 19 interns, supported connections in 8 languages, and facilitated 2272 calls, 64 care packages, and 137 letters in our programs. These numbers truly represent just the tip of the iceberg in respect to the incredible relationships we have build with those in our community. Each of the older adults who engaged with us took a risk to meet someone new, share their stories, and form a connection during a wildly tumultuous time. Similarly, our volunteers stepped out of their comfort zone and adapted to the limitation of the pandemic while still finding a way to connect with others. Our interns and team members worked incredible hard to ensure our programming could continue to operate by completing intakes, piloting Zoom groups, offering case management support, and sharing vital information about programming and resources with our community.

In addition to the impacts of our programming, we had the privilege of engaging in a series of community events, including leading workshops at two conferences and hosting public events for our community members.

In March 2021, Clio presented at the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry 2021 Virtual Conference - Challenges & Opportunities: Translating Research Evidence in the COVID Era. Some of our team members presented on lessons from our experience as a new non-profit attempting to provide services during the pandemic.

In January of 2022, Clio presented at LiveOn NYC’s 32nd Annual Conference on Aging to discuss Centering Collaboration in Program Development. We discussed topics of collaborative helping, radical listening, and narrative competence. While our presentation was very interactive, we wanted to share our worksheet and resource list with the community.

More information about our educational workshops and materials can be found on our resources page.

Community Partners

Our work was made possible by the community partners who taught us, supported us, and referred their community members to us. Each of the following organizations has made a meaningful impact on Clio, our development, and our service delivery: