Fresh Ideas: Time for a village?

“Given the community and support of living in a real village isn’t built into our lives, we have to create one.” — A member of Ashby Village in Berkeley, Calif.

What are we going to do when we get old? Who will take care of us? Who will we need to take care of? How can we stay secure and happy in our own homes? If we have to move, what is our new home going to be like?

My friends and I are asking ourselves these questions. It’s that time of life. Many of us either have, or have had, the responsibility of caring for aging parents. We’ve seen what works (or what works well enough) and what doesn’t work at all. I’ve seen unhappy, lost, and lonely elders. I’ve seen people who are caring for elders struggle to fit the responsibility of being constantly on call to help out mom or dad into their lives. I have seen people who live far from parents consumed by guilt they can’t quit their jobs and move closer to help. And worse, I have seen elders with no extended family support struggle through serious injuries and illness — alone.

In fact, in my view the inevitable physical and mental deterioration of old age are not the worst parts of aging. The biggest challenges are loneliness and lack of a sense of meaning and purpose.

So what do we do? Some friends and I have been talking about establishing a “village.”

The concept of an intentional “village” to provide support, friendship, and security to elders began in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston in 2002. On the Beacon Hill website, the organization’s founders write, “We wanted to stay engaged in our own neighborhood in this vibrant city. But we recognized that we might need support in the future. We looked beyond conventional solutions. We wanted more freedom and control than we found in models that focus on single issues, such as housing, medical care, or social activities. We wanted to be active, taking care of ourselves and each other.”

Beacon Hill is a virtual village, not a retirement community. Its 400 members live in their own homes and have access to concierge services for volunteer help in the home; references to vetted service providers; social and cultural programs; transportation; volunteer opportunities; discounted home health care programs; and discounted health and wellness programs. The age of Beacon Hill members ranges from 50 to 100. Members pay an annual membership fee, and also provide volunteer services, if they are able, to other members.

According to the Village to Village Network (http://www.vtvnetwork.org/), nationwide there are now 190 open villages, and 150 in planning stages. In the West, Oregon has 14 open or planned villages, Colorado has five, California has 64, Washington has 16, Arizona has seven, and Nevada has one. Most villages are in urban areas, but some rural ones have been established, too.

About 30 percent of Carson City’s population is age 55 and older — that’s more than 17,000 people who are either at or getting close to a time in their lives when they might want the option of a “village” community. We are just beginning to explore this option in Carson City, and we have discovered a step-by-step guide we can use, provided by the Village to Village network. If you think you might be interested in helping us build a village, please contact me through editor@nevadaappeal.com with “Build a village” in the subject line.

Anne Macquarie blogs about clean energy and climate change in Nevada at nevadanscleanenergy.org.