Rona Barrett Foundation Giving Quality of Life to Our Seniors

With one of the most world-recognized names in TV, magazine, and print news media, Rona Barrett fashioned her career on well-researched and deep-dive interviews, asking the questions no one would have at the time. Barrett broke many glass ceilings in the media industry for women and as a person with muscular dystrophy. She took on causes ahead of her time, such as the unpopular-at-the-time War on Drugs, in entertainment. An original cast member of Good Morning America, and host of TV specials for ABC and NBC, she retired from entertainment reporting in the early 1990s.

In 2010, after taking care of her father, she made a dedicated decision to devote her life’s work to helping impoverished seniors to have housing and food security. She kickstarted the funding of her Rona Barrett Foundation (RBF) with her one-woman show titled Nothing But the Truth and her book, Gray Matters. She found land in Santa Ynez, the architect, and partnered with the Housing Authority of Santa Barbara County to build The Golden Inn, taking in its first residents in 2016. The second housing project, Harry’s House, named after her father, is currently under construction as a congregate care housing campus for low-income seniors. The Golden Inn is being used as a role model by the State of California’s Master Plan for Aging’s section on housing for seniors. She has a volunteer program, Rona’s Warriors,to adopt a senior, and a weekly podcast, “Gray Matters.”

Turning 86 years young the day before her annual fundraiser on October 9, we talked about her foundation:

Q. What is the dream goal for the foundation?

A. The dream is that somewhere out in the audience someone says, you know I understand what that girl wants to do and what she’s looking for is an endowment fund. 

Someone who understands about this phase of life, about aging, and that since the recession of 2008, it was the beginning of the holy terror moment of seniors in this country who thought they had enough of money to live out the rest of their lives. To support what we are doing, we need to start with really a $10 to $20 million endowment to subsidize costs of those who can’t afford the facility and going forward.

Has anyone contacted your foundation for the blueprint to replicate the senior housing?

The State of California Master Plan for Aging reps came to view it and were inspired by The Golden Inn, which helped them to write the housing section of that bill. [mpa.aging.ca.gov]There are many others who have called and come to view the project. The dream is that people will say, ‘Can you help us build this in Birmingham, Palm Springs, Northern California, and all over the country!’ In my opinion, affordable housing is the best our country can come up with for our seniors. 

Let’s talk glass ceilings you broke through…

[laughs] Oh that one! The first lady I worked for, Bessie H. Little, ran 35 departments at a major magazine, Miss America Publishing Corporation. When I came for the job, I was still in college, and she said, if you want to be a writer, I’m not going to help you! Every time I want a secretary, I lose them because they want to be a writer. I said no, no, I want a job while I go to school. And all I can tell you is three weeks later I came in and on my desk was a pile of ‘brown notes,’ the phase you do before you go into print. She said to me, I don’t have the time to do this but if you see something wrong change it, I trust you – and the next thing I knew I was an associate editor! She was the most wonderful woman I have ever known, and one of the few who really broke the crystal ceiling. I was born with a form of muscular dystrophy, which propelled me to make something of myself. The kids called me names, and I didn’t understand that; what did I do wrong? You then realize you’ve got to take charge and can’t let people walk all over you. At one point I had a tough attitude because I didn’t want people to knock me down anymore. 

What about entertainment news?

You know they’re going to find a reason to dislike what I am going to tell you. When you watch the talk shows on entertainment, there is just no recognizability that they can make a statement and tell you that this is the truth. And although the culture in our country is changing, it doesn’t mean you can’t still do it the right way. There is no authority in the entertainment industry today – once Oprah steps away, which she has in some fashion, and when I stepped away, there was no one who came along to replace me. Now it’s about people who make a lot of money and don’t care if the person is jerky, as long as the audience is laughing. Everything in the world seems to be about money, who can make the most money, and what influence that money has. For many people it is the money that influences them, but when you are a reporter, you have to know what is going on or happened and report it, or people are going to know you lied.

Is there anyone you want to interview? 

I wouldn’t want to do the interview unless the person gave me a long period of time to talk with them. You can’t just do an interview with someone and whatever they say you believe. Right now, I’d like to talk to half a dozen famous people who would be willing to share what I have been sharing on my podcast – what it’s like to grow older and age. 

The October 9 fundraiser at Sunstone Winery in Santa Ynez, titled, “Love, Italian Style” was sold out. Keynote speakers were Lorenza Errighi, Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles; RBF Board Chair Cynthia Manigault; and Tony Morris, RBF Executive Director.

Attendees included Barrett’s supporters since the foundation’s inception Bo Derek and John Corbett, Board VP & Treasurer Djamila Cabugos, chef and cookbook author Michele Carbone with husband Jim, Steven and Joan Reden, June Martin, Susan Weber, Tresha Sell, Rick and Heidi Holly, Janelle Parsons, Amy and Glenn Bacheller and Kevin Nimmons, Donny Lieberman ofSunseri Construction with son Jesse, and Jo-Anne and Jay Blatter, Harry’s House architect. 

Top event sponsors were Sunstone Winery, the Wood-Claeyssens Foundation, Sunseri Construction, Vespa Santa Barbara, Pacific Western Bank, Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, Union Bank, and the Bacheller Charitable Trust.  

411: ronabarrettfoundation.org

The Rona Barrett Foundation is a nonprofit organization providing affordable housing and supportive services for seniors-in-need. With dignity, respect, and love, the Rona Barrett Foundation presents residents with a broad variety of programs that meet their needs and enhance their lives.