gerontology Gerontology ( ) is the study of the social, culture, cultural, psychology, psychological, cognitive, and biology, biological aspects of aging. The word was coined by Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov in 1903, from the Ancient Greek, Greek ('), meaning "o ...

, an Elder Village or Senior VillagePhilip Moeller,
Senior Villages Take Root as Movement Matures
'' U.S. News & World Report'', January 28, 2011; accessed 2013.05.18. (occasionally "virtual village", and usually shortened to "Village") is an organization, usually staffed by volunteers (often with a small paid staff), that provides services to the elderly in order to allow them to remain in their homes as they age. Villages are a part of the " aging in place" movement,Alex Pianin, ", ''The Northwest Current'', May 1, 2013, p. 1. and are found in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands, as well as South Korea and Finland. Most Villages have members, to whom they provide services upon request. Services offered typically include transportation, light home maintenance and repair, and social activities. Most Villages do not provide medical services or involved home maintenance, but provide referrals to those who do.

History

The first formal Village was founded in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

in 2001.Jane Gross,
A Grass-Roots Effort to Grow Old at Home
, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', August 14, 2007; accessed 2013.05.17.Haya El Nasser
'Villages' let elderly grow old at home
''USA Today'', July 26, 2010; accessed 2013.05.17. Approximately one dozen residents of the historic neighborhood wanted " to remain at home" once transportation and household chores became difficult, dangerous, or even impossible. They also wished to avoid becoming dependent on their children, but did not want to move to an old-age facility. They founded an organization to provide these services to the organization's members, who must live in Beacon Hill or the adjacent Back Bay neighborhood.Jane Gross,
Aging at Home: For a Lucky Few, a Wish Come True
''The New York Times'', February 9, 2006; accessed 2013.05.17. The result has been called an "

intentional community An intentional community is a voluntary residential community designed to foster a high degree of group cohesiveness, social cohesion and teamwork. Such communities typically promote shared values or beliefs, or pursue a common vision, wh ...

"Paula Span,
Sharing a Table, and Much More
, ''The New York Times'', October 15, 2010; accessed 2013.05.17. or a "virtual

retirement community A retirement community is a residential community or housing complex designed for older adults who are generally able to care for themselves. Assistance from home care agencies is allowed in some communities, and activities and socialization op ...

".Barbara Whitaker,
These Days, 'Retirement Living' Can Mean Many Things
, ''The New York Times'', February 6, 2005; accessed 2013.05.17. The organization grew slowly, learning from its mistakes. After four years in existence, Beacon Hill Village was the subject of an article in ''The New York Times'', and the idea spread. Beacon Hill Village prepared a how-to manual for sale to those who would found other Villages. By 2010, there were more than 50 Villages in the United States. As of 2012, there were some 90 Villages in operation in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands, with more than 120 other Villages in the formation process.Village to Village Network,
About VtV Network
; accessed 2013.05.18. By 2018, the idea had spread as far as South Korea and Finland.Robert Weisman,

, ''The Boston Globe'', July 7, 2018. By 2019, there were 280 Villages in the United States.

Operation

A Village tends to be formed as a

non-profit corporation A nonprofit corporation is any legal entity which has been incorporated under the law of its jurisdiction for purposes other than making profits for its owners or shareholders. Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, a nonprofit corporation ma ...

, with members, directors, and officers. Emily A. Greenfield, Andrew E. Scharlach, Carrie L. Graham, Joan K. Davitt, and Amanda J. Lehning,
A National Overview of Villages: Results from a 2012 Organizational Survey
', Rutgers School of Social Work, Dec. 1, 2012. Most are qualified as

charitable organizations A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

.Susan Straight,
'Village' groups, home alterations help more elderly people keep the homes they love
, ''The Washington Post'', July 27, 2012; accessed 2013.05.18. They may or may not have paid staff, a regular office, and other business trappings.Howard Gleckman
It takes a village to keep some seniors at home
, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', February 9, 2010; accessed 2013.05.18. Villages are largely funded through membership dues and fees, on the one hand, and donations and grants, on the other. Some 90% of American Villages charge dues ,Carrie L. Graham, Andrew E. Scharlach, Roscoe Nicholson, and Catherine O’Brien,
2016 National Survey of US Villages
' University of California, Berkeley, Center for the Advanced Study of Aging Services & Mather LifeWays Institute on Aging, 2017. but some charge no dues. They provide such services as transportation, grocery delivery, light home repairs, and dog walking, as well as organizing social activities.Village to Village Network,
Frequently Asked Questions
; accessed 2013.05.18. They typically pool the resources of a community in providing services. Most Villages do not provide medical services or involved home maintenance, but provide referrals to those who do.Niharika Mandhana
Growing Older in an Urban Village
''The New York Times'', August 15, 2011. accessed 2013.05.18. Village staff and volunteers might select and screen these outside providers, and can help coordinate members' appointments with them.Robin Evans
Senior villages that help elderly stay at home come to West Coast
''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'', Dec. 12, 2007; accessed 2013.05.17. Providers so identified may offer their services to Village members at reduced rates.Caitlin McGlade
For elderly at home, it takes a 'village'
, ''

The Columbus Dispatch ''The Columbus Dispatch'' is a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871, and it has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since ''The Columbus Citizen-Journal'' ceased publication in ...

'', August 30, 2010; accessed 2013.05.20. Villages tend to operate on one of three models. The first, pioneered in the 1990s by Community Without Walls in Princeton, N.J., has numerous members, each of whom belongs to one of a number of "houses". Annual dues are very low or non-existent, and much of the activity of such a group is social. Nearly all services are provided by volunteers. Members pay additional dues for further assistance and services needed. The second form delivers both volunteer and paid help. Dues are higher (and often subsidized for low-income members), and the level of services (which are typically provided without additional charge) tends to be more comprehensive. This has been termed the "classic village model". A third model amounts to being a service exchange. One member might pick up groceries for a neighbor; a second volunteer might then fix the first's leaky faucet. Historically, Villages have tended to operate in urban areas, with significant concentrations of both service providers and recipients, but they are spreading.Nell Bernstein
Elder Villages Offer Independence Plus Community
Caring.com; updated Oct. 21, 2008; accessed 2013.05.17. Many experts believe that the second model, with both paid staff and volunteers, has the most widespread applicability. Currently, Villages are largely found in

middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...

and upper-income neighborhoods; the movement has received some criticism for its perceived failure to reach more diverse communities to date. The

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, area, with its large proportion of people who moved from elsewhere and thus do not have a local family network, has a particularly high concentration of Villages; the District of Columbia Office on Aging has a Web page dedicated to "Senior Villages" and has produced a "how to" guide for establishing a new Village. The issue of sustainability, with the related issue of growth, has arisen in a number of Villages. In some, the founders have been surprised at the difficulty they experience in their efforts to expand membership beyond the initial group, which can impair efforts to grow the membership to the point at which a Village can become self-sustaining. Many people approached by a Village do not feel ready to join, while the people most in need of a Village's services are less likely to hear about them.Alex Pianin
Cleveland Park gym spotlights senior athletes in photo display
, ''The Northwest Current'', Feb. 27, 2013, p. 5. Individual Villages may share ideas and experiences through the Village to Village ("VtV") network. VtV was established in 2010 by Beacon Hill Village and Capital Impact in response to requests from a number of Villages. At the end of 2014, Capital Impact withdrew from the partnership and in March 2015, the organization, formally organized as a limited liability company, was converted to a corporation, named Village to Village Network, Inc. It serves as a clearinghouse for inter-Village communications, and provides information to help communities establish and operate their own Villages. It further organizes an annual meeting, the National Village Gathering, at which local Village officers and staffers may meet those from other Villages to share information and experiences. The Beacon Hill Village in Boston began as a community of older adults joining forces to create "programs and services that will enable them to live at home, remaining independent as long as possible." The ‘Village’ model for aging in place is based on the Beacon Hill Village established in Boston in 2001. The ‘Village’ model is a grassroots, consumer driven, and volunteer first model.McDonough, K. E., & Davitt, J. K. (2011). It takes a village: Community practice, social work, and aging-in-place. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 54(5), 528-541. The ‘Village’ is a self-governed organization of older adults who have identified their desire to age in place. The model relies on informal network of community members. Volunteers are the backbone of the model, while the ‘Village’ staff is responsible for administration including vetting, training, and management of volunteers. Vendors provide home health care and professional home repairs. Volunteers provide transportation, shopping, household chores, gardening, and light home maintenance. The ‘Village’ model relies on the collective abilities of the community to respond to challenges face in the aging process. The ‘Village’ also works to build a shared sense of community through social activities including potluck dinners, book clubs, and educational programs. , there were over 50 fully operational ‘Villages’ and nearly 149 in the developmental stage. By 2015, the Village to Village Network had 251 member organizations, accounting for approximately 25,000 service-receiving members."Village to Village Network Moves Headquarters to St. Louis: Local Executive to Lead International Senior Resource Organization", press release, January 6, 2015

References

Links

Village to Village Network

{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140122082900/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/july-dec13/aging_08-08.html , date=2014-01-22
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Gerontology * Housing for the elderly