A Village to Age in Place
My dear friend and colleague, Mark Bauer, sent me this article, Why More Seniors Are Forming Their Own ‘Villages’ .
The story features the establishment of Beacon Hill Village, where twelve
like-minded neighbors … founded the Beacon Hill Village, a local group for independent seniors to meet and support one other through the elder years. By pooling yearly membership fees, members of the village pay for a small staff that helps them find services like drivers, cleaners, and handymen.
In 2002 they formally launched Beacon Hill village as a nonprofit (despite its name, the village doesn’t own any property and has no physical housing component), and today count nearly 350 members. Their example has since spurred more than 170 other villages across the country, a growing experiment in how urban seniors can network with their peers—and empower themselves.
Members pay an annual fee which includes access to staff who assist residents in obtaining needed services (the village does not provide “direct services”). There are intangible benefits as well to this model. The story discusses the sense of community provided by this concept and its benefit to residents. The concept appears to be gaining fans.
In 2010 a national organization called the Village to Village Network emerged to help found new villages and connect existing ones. … the network’s St. Louis-based director, said she expects the number of villages to double within two years. The average village has about 100 members, meaning such a rapid expansion would still only reach about 35,000 Americans in all. [The director] … said lower-income members are underrepresented in the network at large, and that she and her colleagues hope to change that.
As the model expands across 40 states, managers … are trying to reconcile exponential growth with an emphasis on neighborhood-scale relationships. Fundraising, too, presents a challenge. By design, membership fees barely cover costs at many villages, including Beacon Hill, so grants and foundations often make up the rest. That presents future villages with a tough choice: commit to the fundraising grind and the uncertainty that comes with it, or raise membership fees and risk shutting out lower-income neighbors.
The Beacon Hill Village website offers this description
Beacon Hill Village, a member-driven organization for Boston residents 50 and over, provides programs and services so members can lead vibrant, active and healthy lives, while living in their own homes and neighborhoods.
Benefits include access to discounted providers who can help you manage your household, stay active and healthy, and serve your driving needs. Our social and cultural programs are always changing to support member interests.
To learn more about Beacon Hill Village, click here. The Village to Village Network website describes the village concept as “Aging’s new frontier”. The website contains information about the various villages in the U.S., information about how to start a village, an interactive map, information about upcoming conferences, and more. Click here to learn more about the network. This is an interesting grass-roots effort that seems to be flourishing.