EASTHAMPTON — Mary Gomez said when she wants something, she works for it.
That has included her United States citizenship, her GED and, six years ago, an apartment in the Treehouse Foundation community.
She called Treehouse every other month for two years before she finally got a spot in the intergenerational residential community, which puts retirees in homes alongside young families with foster and adopted kids.
Gomez, a Dominican immigrant, raises her two biological children and two foster children.
“I know I can count on the seniors all the time,” she said. “Sometimes I have to run and do something with one kid, and I can say, ‘can you wait at my house?’”
Treehouse opened 11 years ago with hopes to bridge generational gaps, provide mutual support for seniors and families and move kids out of foster care into adoptive homes.
Now, families and seniors each face a year or two on a waitlist to join the community. Founder and CEO Judy Cockerton said the program has been so successful, Treehouse is in the process of creating replicas of the Easthampton community — one in the Boston area and one in Silicon Valley.
“I’m really excited about what we’ve accomplished, and I’m delighted to spread intergenerational goodness across the country and state,” Cockerton said.
According to statistics provided by Treehouse, 95 percent of children in the community old enough to graduate high school have earned their diploma. Nationally, only 58 percent of foster youth graduate.
The statistics also say 100 percent of Treehouse kids have attended at least two years of college or vocational education after they graduated, compared to less than 10 percent of foster youth nationally.
However, Gomez said intergenerational mixing doesn’t just benefit the kids.
“They need that knowledge, and the seniors need to feel like they can do something for others,” she said. “It’s the perfect combination.”
Ashlynn Morales, 13, has lived in the community for about two years. She said she doesn’t spend a lot of time with the elderly residents but enjoys trips the community takes together. She said she most enjoys riding her bike around the complex with other kids from Treehouse.
Maureen Sienkiewicz, 71, volunteers at Treehouse and hopes to live there soon. Even though she hasn’t yet formed relationships with any children in the few months she’s worked there, Sienkiewicz said even just seeing kids rides their bikes around the complex makes her feel the “spirit” of the community.
“I think part of it is having the life of children around,” Sienkiewicz said. “Just feeling the energy and enthusiasm and sense of wonder of kids gives you more life.”
Treehouse doesn’t force its older residents to serve as surrogate grandparents, but many choose to do so. On Tuesday, older residents helped children with an art project in the community center, pushed in kids’ chairs while they ate ice cream, and offered smiles and hugs when each child walked into the room.
Marc Freedman, founder and CEO of Encore.org, visited Treehouse on Tuesday for a luncheon. Freedman originated the idea of the “encore career,” a concept that asks people over 50 to use the last portion of their life doing work for the greater good.
He plans to feature Treehouse in his fifth book, “How to Live Forever,” which is due out in fall 2018. He said the book mainly argues that the way to stay young is to invest in the next generation. Intergenerational housing can be a part of this initiative.
“There’s been a movement bucking age-segregated housing for older people,” Freedman said. “I think that’s an inspiring and promising model for the country when, for the first time, we have more older people than young.”
Emily Lewis, a retiree who has lived at Treehouse for five years, said while recently driving around Easthampton, she saw some nice houses. She thought, “I could live there,” and asked herself why she chooses to stay in her relatively small Treehouse apartment instead.
She thought back to the children walking around her complex, each smiling and friendly, and back to the community that makes her feel like she has something to contribute.
“How could I leave that?” she asked.