1. Aging in Place Independently
The Village Concept
Aging in Place
Independently

2. A Village is a membership-driven, grassroots, nonprofit organization
run by volunteers and paid staff
with the goal of providing
support for its members
as they age in place.

3. Where is a Village?
A ‘Village’ in the Village Model Concept is a virtual reality ‘place’ that can be
a city block,
a suburban neighborhood,
a zip code or telephone area code,
a rural geographic area
or even a high-rise building.

4. What is the Village for?
One Stop Shopping: Villages do anything their members need in order to age safely and successfully in their own homes

5. Why is the Village important?
A Village will positively impact… isolation, interdependence, health and purpose of their individual members …with the intent to reduce overall cost of care.

6. What does a Village do? Provide volunteer services
including transportation,
inspiring health & wellness programs,
home repairs,
social & educational activities
Offer access to vetted & discounted service providers
Coordinate access to affordable services
Volunteer drivers can provide members with transportation to medical appointments among other destinations.

7. Why join a Village?
As we age, we lose friends and family and become isolated. As we age, we can no longer physically do everything we did before. As we age, we need help with everyday activities and getting to where we want to go. As we age, we want to continue to enjoy all life has to offer.

8. The Baby Boomers have reached majority in numbers and age.
What is different now?
The Baby Boomers have reached majority in numbers and age.

9. An aging population
Until the year 2029, 10,000 people will turn 65 on a daily basis. 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%.

10. The effects of loneliness
“The profound effects of loneliness on health and independence are a critical public health problem,” said Dr. Carla M. Perissinotto, a geriatrician at the University of California, San Francisco.
“It is no longer medically or ethically acceptable to ignore older adults who feel lonely and marginalized.”
Research shows that 60% of health outcomes are based on behavioral, socio-economic and environmental factors.

11. What’s different with a Village?
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.

12. It's well known now that by the year 2020, over 21% of all West Virginians will be 65 years of age, or older.
This trend not only affects West Virginia, it is happening all around our nation and the world.
~ West Virginia Partnership
for Elder Living, Inc. (WV PEL)

13. Courtesy of WV PEL

14. So the population is growing older and the Village Model is growing in popularity. Map of existing Villages in the United States
Courtesy of the Village to Village Network website

15. WHERE IT ALL BEGAN…

16. WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
The first Village was formed in the Beacon Hill area of Boston, Massachusetts in 1999.
This is how it happened according to them…

17. WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
In 1999, our founders, a group of friends, gathered to talk about the future.
We wanted to stay engaged in our own neighborhood in this vibrant city. But we recognized that we might need support in the future. 

18. WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
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 rather than being "taken care of.”

19. WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
After much consideration, we developed a grassroots membership organization.
We, the members, decide what we need and want. We have an expert staff, a great variety of service providers, enthusiastic volunteers, and strategic partners, but we govern the Village, design its offerings, and make it all happen.
We are self-supporting, funded by membership fees and donations; we are self-governing as a secular, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

20. WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
The Village cares about the whole person as it responds to individual interests and requests. We offer a great variety of activities and social events. 
We take pride in offering members a solution or helpful response whenever they call the Village office. We are skilled at locating and evaluating the best local resources and usually negotiate discounts
and preferred service.

21. WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
Some services are offered by volunteers, others by professionals.
We also have strategic partners, professional organizations that support our goals, including experts in home health care and geriatric medicine.

22. Many Villages have to charge several hundred dollars per person / per family for membership.

23. WHERE IT ALL BEGAN We enrolled our first members in January 2002 and
have grown to nearly 400 members.
Our operating principles have inspired hundreds of other communities in the United States and more than 60 Villages had opened by our tenth anniversary.
We are connected to many of the (newly formed Villages) through another innovative organization that we created, the Village-to-Village Network ( )

24. The VtVN perspective
How does a Village benefit the broader community that it serves? Villages form key partnerships, provide services and are an important resource to strengthening communities. Villages are community models that provide a coordinated and comprehensive approach to meeting the needs of their members. Village members are a valuable resource engaging in projects to improve their communities through volunteering, advocating and creating solutions to community issues.

25. The VtVN perspective
Villages are starting to work to develop Age-friendly initiatives such as the Village Connection and Age-Friendly Columbus and several DC Villages and Age-Friendly D.C.

26. So who are these Villages?
The Villages are all over the United States and beginning to form in other countries. Here is one in California…

27. …in Portland, Oregon
… in Austin, Texas…

28. …in Lawrence, Kansas…
…in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania…

29. …in Athens, Ohio…
…in Alexandria, VA…

30. See more at www.shepherdstownSAIL.org
…and right here in West Virginia, two Villages have formed…
The first was formed in Shepherdstown, WV. The Shepherdstown Area Independent Living (SAIL) village:
See more at

31. …and the second,
in the City of Charleston (WV)
and the surrounding areas:
The Kanawha Valley
Village People
(KVVP)
See more at

32. The ‘Village People’ is a mixed village – rural, suburban, and urban – striving
to cover large areas for its members throughout the Kanawha Valley.

33. living independently as we age in our own homes
The Village Concept
living independently
as we age in our own homes