The "village" concept began in Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood in 2001, when a group of residents who wanted to stay in their homes as they aged formed a nonprofit called Beacon Hill Village to enhance access to the services that often force older Americans to give up their homes. The movement has mushroomed, with "villages" established or emerging in communities throughout the country, over 40 in the DC area alone.
Learn more:
PUBLICATIONS ABOUT VILLAGES:
Beth Baker, "The Village: Neighbors Helping Neighbors" in With a Little Help from our Friends : Creating Community as we Grow Older (Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 2014), pp. 29-39. Beth Baker is a long-time resident of Takoma Park.
Tara Bahrampour, "Through a growing number of senior villages in the D.C. area, aging in place becomes easier, The Washington Post, Feb. 6, 2014.
Jane Bennett Clark, The Benefits of Retirement Villages, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, November 2015. The author is a Takoma Park resident.
Wikipedia contributors, "Elder Village," Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, (accessed August 18, 2016).
RELATED PUBLICATIONS:
Beth Baker, "Will We Really Be Able to Age in Place?"
WEBSITES:
Montgomery County Dept. of Health and Human Services provides information on the village movement.
Washington Area Villages Exchange (WAVE) is a consortium of local Villages that meets regularly to share ideas, resources and support.
Village to Village Network (VTV) is a national membership organization for Villages with additional resources, forums and ideas.
DC AREA VILLAGES:
Click here for the 2016 Annual Report for Montgomery County Villages.