ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst

The Treehouse Community: A Multi-generational Community As Intervention and Center of Innovation for Foster/Adoptive Care

University of Massachusetts at Amherst

The Treehouse poster will highlight and explore the practice of the multi-
generational Treehouse Community in Easthampton, MA (Treehouse.)

Treehouse is a major initiative of the Treehouse Foundation whose mission
is to promote enduring family relationships and community connections for
children who have experienced foster care through the development of
innovative community based initiatives, programs and practices that
stem from multi-disciplinary collaborations.

The first Treehouse Community opened in June 2006 and is dedicated to
providing permanency for children experiencing foster care. The Treehouse
Community Approach is itself an innovative intervention that is benefiting
children, families and seniors ranging in age from 4 – 90. It is made possible
by a collaboration among the Treehouse Foundation, Beacon Communities
LLC and Berkshire Children & Families.

The Treehouse Community Approach invites people of all ages to invest
daily in the lives of vulnerable children. Phase One offers families who are
providing kinship, guardianship and adoption for children in foster care the
opportunity to live in beautiful new rental townhouses and cottages and co-
create a caring and supportive neighborhood with individuals 55 years and
older. Together with Treehouse on-site staff, Treehouse community
members are promoting the well-being of children, families and elders
on a community wide scale and creating a culture of possibility that is being
shared regionally and nationally.

In the context of the multi-generational community setting, relationships are
cultivated across generations, supported by community activities and
sustained through on-going Treehouse programs. Over 100 people live on
Treehouse Circle in rental homes. This spring the Treehouse Foundation, in
partnership with Beacon Communities LLC, will begin Phase Two of the
Treehouse Community development: home ownership. With 9 first time
home buyer houses and 24 market rate homes, the Treehouse Community
Approach will expand its invitation to a broader population of people who
would like to take part in the development of a new regional and national
New Worlds of Adoption Conference: Linking Research with Practice
Poster Presentation Outline submitted by the Treehouse Foundation

paradigm for investing in the lives of children whose lives have been
impacted by foster care.
In addition to building a neighborhood designed to support children, families
and ordinary citizens who live on Treehouse Circle, one of the Treehouse
Foundation’s top priorities is to develop a Treehouse Center of Innovation
for Foster/Adoptive Care. To that end, it has been partnering with
individuals, non-profit organizations and philanthropists from multiple
disciplines to create replicable program models that serve vulnerable
children throughout the region.

Over the past 4 years the Treehouse Center of Innovation for
Foster/Adoptive Care has collaborated with Enchanted Circle Theatre, Snow
Farm, Hampshire Educational Collaborative, Holyoke Rows, School
Sprouts, the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art and Sibling
Connections to launch a compelling menu of fun engagement options that
ordinary citizens of all ages can volunteer to participate in and/or support.

Background:
The Treehouse Community was envisioned by foster/adoptive parent Judy
Cockerton, founder of the Treehouse Foundation, and was developed and
now operated in collaboration with a housing partner, Beacon Communities
LLC and a foster/adoption competent social service partner, Berkshire
Children & Families.

The Treehouse poster will outline the following:
• Multi-generational Program precursors and references with particular
reference to Hope Meadows in Ill., that provided inspiration for the
Treehouse Community
• Treehouse Community overview and demographics
• The Treehouse Community Theory of Change and Community
Principles developed by organizational partners and community
members in a strategic planning process
• Community Goals
• The Treehouse approach as exemplified by the following:
Treehouse Teaming approach
Multi-generational connections
Treehouse Programs and Activities
Collaborations and organizational structure
• Preliminary Observations on the following questions:
New Worlds of Adoption Conference: Linking Research with Practice
Poster Presentation Outline submitted by the Treehouse Foundation

How can an intergenerational community serve as a positive
intervention in the lives of children who have experienced
foster care?
How are children thriving in the community?
What is the value of the Treehouse model?
• Implications for future Research and Documentation
Evaluation and documentation plans
Reference to national initiatives
• Recommendations/Conclusions
Treehouse as an agent for change
Implications of the Treehouse Community model
Replication Efforts
Reference to other initiatives across the country