Part of Age-Friendly Greater Pittsburgh’s campaign to spotlight friendships across generations.

Kaylee Priddy and Pamela Handelman consider themselves kindred spirits. They’re both artists and activists and more than 50 years apart in age. After meeting at a dinner party, they not only became immediate friends, they went on to become roommates.

Kaylee, in her late 20s, and Pamela, in her 70s, say they left that night feeling as if they’d known each other their whole lives. Neither expected to become roommates.

But when Pamela was looking for a tenant around the same time Kaylee’s lease was expiring, she invited her to discuss the idea over dinner. By the end of the meal, the decision was made, and Kaylee moved in.

Intergenerational friendships like theirs are at the heart of Age-Friendly Greater Pittsburgh’s Picture This campaign and its larger mission to make the region a good place to grow up and grow old.

Nate Smallwood / Age-Friendly Greater Pittsburgh Kaylee Priddy (left) and Pamela Handelman  

Through photos and stories, the Picture This campaign combats social isolation and ageism by celebrating the power of connection across generations.

The centerpiece of the campaign is a freely accessible Age-Inclusive Photo Bank, featuring 150 images that capture the vibrancy of aging across four counties, including Westmoreland. Taken by prominent local photographers, including Pulitzer Prize winner Martha Rial, many of the photos are featured in a culminating photo exhibition opening this month in downtown Pittsburgh.

Beyond the photo bank, the age inclusion campaign has united over 1,600 people through block parties, storytelling and education efforts. The campaign builds on 10 years of advocacy work and sets the stage for Age Friendly Greater Pittsburgh’s next chapter, including a goal to extend its mission beyond Allegheny County, in collaboration with its founder, Southwestern Pennsylvania Partnership for Aging.

It all starts with bringing residents and generations together.

For Kaylee and Pamela, their own intergenerational friendship has enriched their lives in ways neither imagined.

Pamela describes their connection as bashert, Yiddish for “meant to be.” Kaylee boasts that her older friend is “the bearer of progress in our thinking and our home,” a role she believes society usually assigns to younger generations.

Both have stepped away from social media and enjoy the quiet that comes with it, filling the space by swapping stories they’ve heard on NPR and conversations about improving the world. They’ve stood shoulder to shoulder at protests, and are already dreaming up ways to combine Pamela’s oil paintings with Kaylee’s mixed-media artwork into future collaborations.

Their friendship illustrates a core message of the Picture This campaign: Intergenerational connection offers a powerful antidote to social isolation and ageism. And it’s especially relevant in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, where more than 20% of the population is over the age of 65, higher than the national average.

Pamela says she’s experienced “more freedom of spirit” since knowing Kaylee and, to her surprise, has even gained a new circle of younger friends.

“The relationships I have now with people who could be my grandchildren are remarkable,” she says. “They see me, and I see them. I think that’s what the secret is.”

According to Pamela, conversation is the key to any intergenerational connection ideally over along dinner.

Age-Friendly Greater Pittsburgh’s Picture This photo exhibition runs through Feb. 1 at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, 980 Liberty Ave., Downtown. The exhibition is free and open to the public. Find hours and additional details at agefriendlypgh.org.

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