{"id":15002,"date":"2016-04-21T05:00:35","date_gmt":"2016-04-21T12:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/?p=15002"},"modified":"2026-02-22T15:32:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T23:32:27","slug":"making-the-past-present","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/making-the-past-present\/","title":{"rendered":"Sharing Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"

The History Project aims to enable seniors and their families to build di\"shutterstock_284498066\"<\/a>gital, interactive time capsules to not only preserve the past but also put it into context for future generations.<\/em><\/p>\n

The History Project (THP) co-founder Niles Lichtenstein, always imagined the steady presence of his father accompanying him on his first day at college. Yet when the day came and Lichtenstein crossed the threshold at Harvard Yard, he was alone; his father had passed away before high school graduation.<\/p>\n

Lichtenstein says in a THP video<\/a>, \u201cAlthough I felt his spirit with me, it was his words of wisdom and past experiences that I wanted. At that moment, I began to imagine a world where even if he wasn\u2019t there, I could have access to his college experience in the History Project.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI would find rich traces of who he was and the life he led things that would help me understand who I was and who I was to become.\u201d<\/p>\n

And so began a personal project of archiving the souvenirs and memories of father to create a history able to encapsulate the man and preserve his contributions and connections. Out of this singular effort, the History Project was born.<\/p>\n

With the goal of simplifying the archival process, THP provides a framework able to collect and upload all manner of memorabilia and mementos, from music to photos to oral histories. Additionally, THP invites collaboration. Friends and family are encouraged to contribute their own thoughts and content. Through this intergenerational cooperation, an interwoven record of relationships and experiences is created, revealing a rich tapestry of the hopes, fears, and experience.<\/p>\n

THP\u2019s lofty goals have sparked interest and over $2 million in funding from venture capitalists, pushing the platform from visualization to realization. As part of the rollout, senior living communities in Oregon and California have begun pilot projects to study\u00a0how exploring the past through personal reflection and storytelling can help seniors emotionally connect with friends and family.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom a well-being perspective, it\u2019s about engagement and how we can use these sorts of solutions in order to give people that very natural [tendancy] to talk about their personal lives,\u201d Davis Park, director at Carlsbad By The Sea Retirement Community told Senior Housing News<\/a>. \u201cWe think that kind of engagement is a contribution to the overall effort to get people to increase their socialization.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mary\u2019s Wood (Oregon Continuing Care Retirement Community) CTO Rob May agrees, explaining the pilot project can \u201cbe perceived as a benefit, by people living here and people looking to live in a senior living community. It makes the community richer.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Lichtenstein, THP highlights the way technology can provide social and emotional resonance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn an age where more and more technology is coming into play in the lives of seniors, a lot of it is very functional, but there\u2019s also something to be said about the psycho-social and emotional side,\u201d Lichtenstein tells Senior Housing News.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a lot of what our focus has been\u2014what are those psychosocial benefits of life story reflection and legacy preservation? How does it also create intergenerational conversation and engagement? How do we make technology feel not like distance or alienation but enablement and empowerment?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHistory is a tool,\u201d Lichtenstein declares in that same THP promotional video. \u201cA tool that makes us wiser, makes families stronger, makes organizations smarter, and makes societies better. Whether it\u2019s connecting with your grandma to record a recipe for generations to come, building a history of life with a significant other or child, or building a story of an organization on an anniversary.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a world where every moment is recorded and shared instantaneously, it\u2019s easy to end up with fragmented histories that are complicated and overwhelming. Additionally, while the content we share online reflects our current experiences, it only scratches the surface of who we are and what defines our lives and our relationships. The goal of THP is to take all these disparate elements\u00a0and weave them into a\u00a0\u201cmeaningful narrative told through the project’s timeline where the story can be explored and shared.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe History Project is your living time capsule for memories that matter most. What started out as grandma\u2019s soup recipe turned into something more special. It\u2019s not only what she cooked, but how she cooked. It is her story. A story that transcends generations.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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