This Beautiful Community Connects Foster Children with the Elderly

The Treehouse Foundation brings together two groups of people that are often cast aside by society: children in foster care and the elderly. Founded by Judy Cockerton, Treehouse is a multi-generational housing community where foster families are given support and senior citizens find a sense of purpose.

Judy takes The Hero Effect on a tour of the special community she built from the ground up. After finding a plot of land in the town of Easthampton, Massachusetts, Judy worked with an architect to design the neighborhood in a unique circular formation.

"Everybody coming out of their house has an opportunity to connect with somebody else," Judy explains. "So neighbors are always connecting."

The affordable, vibrant community is designed to help foster children grow up in a nurturing environment, surrounded by people of all ages who care about them.

Also in the video, meet Sarah D'Amato, a former foster child who shuffled between 25 foster-care homes until her forever family settled down in the Treehouse community.

OWN's uplifting docuseries The Hero Effect brings to life the stories of ordinary individuals who are making extraordinary differences in their communities. It airs monthly, on Saturdays at 10 a.m. ET/PT.