The Village Model
Neighbors Caring for Neighbors! Villages are consumer-driven, grassroots community-based organizations. Villages are formed through a cadre of caring neighbors who want to change the paradigm of aging. Through their efforts, local Villages become the foundation for connecting members to a full range of support services to help with non-medical household tasks, services, programs and transportation. Villages promote staying active by coordinating recreational, social, educational and cultural programs. These social activities minimize isolation and promotes interaction amongst their peers.
Why Villages are Needed:
Villages are well positioned to improve the
population health of the communities they serve. In Britain and the United States, roughly one in three people older than 65 live alone, and in the United States, half of those older than 85 live alone. Studies in both countries show the prevalence of loneliness among people older than 60 ranging from 10% to 46%.
The Village Movement originated in Boston with Beacon Hill Village leading the way for a more economically efficient model for aging.
A 2010 survey by AARP found that nearly 90% of older adults in America want to stay in their homes and communities as they age. The Village model helps seniors to age in a place of their choosing, connected to their communities with the supports and tools they need to create successful aging of their own design.
Village members experience reduced isolation, increased independence, and enhanced purpose of life. “Villages are instrumental in helping people remain in their homes and independent in their communities.” - Ilene Henshaw, AARP, Department of Government Affairs.
VILLAGE CHARACTERISTICS:
- Reflect the needs of their members and communities and share many common characteristics
- Provide a strong community that offers members new opportunities to age successfully
- Nonprofit, grassroots initiatives
- Membership-based, member-driven and self-governing
- Designed to be inclusive and to reflect their communities
- Community partners helping to address the challenges of aging
- Coordinate access to affordable services, local resources and service providers
- Positively impact isolation, interdependence, health and purpose of their members
- Provide volunteer services including transportation, health and wellness programs and social and educational activities
WANT TO JOIN A VILLAGE?
A great way to find one near you is by using the
Village Map.
HOW DO I START A VILLAGE?
Here are some tips to getting started:
- Set up a working group of a few friends and neighbors who want to stay in their own homes and want to explore the possibilities.
- Get your working group informed about Villages, how they work and what they do by going to the Find a Village tab on our website and using the Village map to look at a variety of Village websites.
- Invest in a one-year Opportunity Membership with VtV Network. The fee gives you access to the Document Library, discussion Forum, Webinars, Toolkits, Mentor Programs and other resources. We recommend you start working through the Village 101 Toolkit as soon as you can.
- Sign up for the VtV Network mentor program to get an experienced Village organizer assigned to advise your planning and development process – another service included in the Opportunity Membership fee.
- Sign up for the VtV Network mentor program to get an experienced Village organizer assigned to advise your planning and development process – another service included in the Opportunity Membership fee.
- Contact the VtV Network office to find out if there is a regional Village organization in your area. If so, join this group to establish relationships with your local Villages, get acquainted with peers and access their support and advice.
- Find out if your local Area Agency on Aging, Human Services Department or equivalent organizations, have policies or programs to encourage Village development.
To view the full Village 101 Toolkit and learn how to start a Village from the ground up, please consider
joining Village to Village Network.
Click Here to see our membership tiers.
*SOURCES: University of Wisconsin, School of Public Health;
NY Times;
Pew Research;
Kaiser Family Foundation