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11/02/2017 12:01 AMWhen my husband and I moved to our current house almost 13 years ago, we chose it because it was in our price range, in the community in which we wanted to live, had an unusual and beautiful marsh view, and a nice open, floor plan, without enough space for our sons—one in college and one recently graduated—to move back in.(!)
The fact that it was a one-level house didn’t figure into the equation because like many Baby Boomers, we didn’t think about getting older until it started to hit us that there was less time ahead of us than behind us. Only then did we realize that this had been a smart move for another reason—not having to contend with stairs in our elderly years will make it a lot easier to stay put.
It’s a given that the 76 million baby boomers in the U.S. are expected to live longer than previous generations. But what’s particularly noteworthy is that a large percentage of Boomers have no interest in relocating.
According to a recent AARP survey, 87 percent of adults 65-plus want to stay in their current home and community as they age, and even among the “younger set,” ages 50 to 64, 71 percent want to remain where they are.
In order to address the challenges of (the phrase now being coined as) “aging in place,” in 2002, the first village in a movement that has grown into a national Village-to-Village network, was founded by a group of residents in Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood, who wanted to age comfortably and safely in their own homes.
Today there are more than 200 open (fully functional) villages, with more than 150 in development in 45 states and the District of Columbia, with several starting up in Canada and abroad.
Each village in the network operates independently. Connecticut currently has eight villages. In this part of the state, HomeHaven is in development in Greater New Haven and includes North Haven. Shoreline Village CT is open and encompasses Branford, North Branford, Guilford, and Madison.
A village can range from a few blocks in an urban or suburban neighborhood to a rural area with a 20-mile radius. Each is autonomous and advocates for its senior members, who determine which services it will offer.
Typical offerings include home-safety modifications and home repairs, transportation, meal delivery, dog walking, technology training and support, health and wellness programs and services, and social, cultural, and educational activities.
Not only is the Village-to-Village Network a great benefit for its elderly members, it can ease the burden on their baby boomer children. More than seven million of the 44 million Americans who are in a caregiving capacity for their loved ones live at least an hour away and often have worries about how their parents are coping, along with guilt about not living closer.
In our Backyard
Shoreline Village CT, a nonprofit 501 C (3) corporation, is led by an unpaid board of directors, one part-time employee—its director of services, Sylvia De Santis of Branford—and a staff of volunteers.
De Santis explains the difference between similar services provided by senior centers. For example, one van brings a whole group of people shopping and to appointments, while Shoreline Village CT provides one-on-one transportation.
“A volunteer will bring you in his [or her] car to the doctor’s office and bring you home,” she says. “Plus, while riding in the car together, you can chat and the volunteer can find out more about you, what else you need. It’s that little bit of the difference that’s very important to our members.”
Shoreline Village CT currently has 120 members, ranging in age from 75 to older than 90, and plans are to keep growing. About three-quarters are supporting members and one-quarter are active. The annual fee for both types of membership is $500 for individuals and $750 for couples. Supporting members receive all the social benefits, but don’t receive services, and so their fees are tax-deductible.
“It’s ideal to join as a supporting member,” De Santis says. “If you join at an earlier age, you’re already making friends and getting to know everyone. And you can switch immediately to active member when you need to.”
Volunteers, now numbering 25, are a driving force behind the each village. They range in age, with some as young as teens, who participate in Guilford High School’s Caring and Respecting Elderly program.
De Santis notes that people feel more confident about their decision to stay in their homes knowing that they can pick up the phone when they need something done around the house, and have it quickly resolved. It may be as simple as switching out the empty propane tank on the grill or rolling garbage cans to the curb or changing a light bulb in a ceiling fixture that could cause a debilitating fall if the person attempted to do it themselves.
And, for larger repairs, the Village provides a list of vetted carpenters, electricians, and plumbers who will show up on short notice, and are sensitive to the needs of senior customers.
De Santis, who has a degree in geriatric nursing, agrees that not everyone is a candidate for aging at home. If a person has serious physical health issues, and/or dementia and can’t be left alone at night, or if the house isn’t set up for or can be made handicap-accessible, an assisted/independent living community may be a better fit and there are many good options available.
She stresses that, above all else, the community aspect of the village is the most critical piece.
“It’s so important to belong to a community,” De Santis says. “That’s what makes you live longer. When you’re lonely, your friends are passing on, and you’re sitting at home, staring at the wall, you become depressed, which leads to death. To belong to something makes you live longer. The people we surround ourselves with strongly influence our health. You want to be with friends, have some fun.
“We offer all kinds of clubs, social events, and educational lectures,” she continues. “Even just casually getting together at a café or the diner to talk about books, travel, children, grandchildren, weather, what kind of careers they had, you name it. That way you find out about each person and get to know them.”
De Santis, who has been employed in various vocations during her lifetime from nursing to project manager for the Culinary Institute of America, finds this work very satisfying.
“I love dealing with seniors, talking to members, finding out if there is anything I can do for them,” she says. “This is really up my alley.”
For more information about Shoreline Village CT, visit www.shorelinevillagect.org or call 203-747-5939. To learn more about HomeHaven, visit www.eastrockvillage.org or call 203-776-7378.
A wealth of information, including how to start a village in your community, is available on the Village-to-Village Network website: www.vtvnetwork.org
Amy J. Barry is a Baby Boomer, who lives in Stony Creek with her husband and assorted pets. She writes theater reviews for Shore Publishing newspapers and is an expressive arts educator. Contact her at www.aimwrite-ct.net.