Elder Life Advisors — Blog

Just a decade ago, Boston’s Beacon Hill Village established an innovative model to empower older Americans to age in their own homes, supported by an intentional community. Now, the national village movement has soared to a coast-to-coast membership of 11,000 in 55 different villages.

With a 66% annual growth (ten-year average), the village movement is gathering an impressive head of steam. Let’s hope for the equivalent of a volcanic eruption to make this powerful idea accessible to the greater part of the 72 million Americans who, within twenty short years, will be 65 years or older.

Although the challenge appears daunting, I’m betting on the elegant simplicity of villages to win the hearts of Americans by the millions. Nearly ninety percent of Americans want to age in the convenience and privacy of their own homes.

To gain a sense of the enormous potential of villages, consider this social phenomenon on three different levels: a bird’s eye view of day-to-day village life; how successful villages spawn new villages, and; the macro view of public policy.

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Copyright © 2011

At certain times in history, the environment is just right for a bold social undertaking to thrive. The seed of an innovative idea takes root in the firm, fertile soil of local community. It is nurtured by thoughtful people who are passionate about its potential to respond to deep and urgent need. As the concept matures and re-produces in one community after another, a national movement is born.

One such phenomenon is now occurring in the grassroots village movement, also known as aging in community. People are uniting in groups whose purpose is to reach out to the elderly in the spirit of neighbors helping neighbors. In the process, older people are integrated within a valuable community that enables them to remain safely and securely in their own homes as they – and millions of their peers – grow older.

On November 11-12, in Philadelphia, the 2010 National Village Gathering will develop the theme, “Your Voice, Your Vision, Your Village.” The conference will be attended by representatives of currently-open villages from across the U.S. These will be joined by like-minded conferees whose own villages are just getting started, as well as those who are researching options. It’s the perfect place to share knowledge and experience and to provide mutual support and encouragement. The gathering is a community of communities.

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Copyright © 2010
Elder Life Advisors, LLC

Washington Park Cares, Inc. neighborhood

In a charming, early 1900s-vintage Denver neighborhood, residents are bringing new life to an age-old tradition. Within three short years, they have created a thriving community of inter-connected life with a small town look and feel.  Designed for the over-55 population, Washington Park Cares, Inc. is on a mission to help seniors remain in their own homes, with access to services, resources, and community engagement.   The 130-member community is inter-generational; members and volunteers represent a broad age span.

The Age-in-Community movement is surging in cities across the U.S. Also called Age-in-Place Communities, or Villages, more than 50 such neighborhood organizations have sprung up from coast to coast. Like Washington Park Cares, most have been inspired by the pioneering example of Boston’s Beacon Hill Village. No two communities are quite alike. Each is uniquely adapted to its constituency.

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Copyright © 2010
Elder Life Advisors, LLC