The VtVN concept sounds lovely in theory. I wonder about how it would work in a rural area like where I live with literal miles between "neighbors." And being brutally honest with myself, things like organizational meetings and committees are mostly just frustrating to me. BUT I recognize that it's important to acquire new skills that are necessary for different stages of life. Since 2020 (or maybe 2016 actually), I have put more effort into building bridges and nurturing neighborly relationships, participating in community clubs, and finding points of connection and shared interests or values. Informally, that is a type of village concept. I think I should explore the website and see what else I can glean to help that spark grow.
I agree with your thoughts. The village concept works well in urban and suburban settings. The easiest way to access this well-coordinated effort is to move into a neighborhood with a Village established. Building community relationships in rural areas is important in general but effort and time to help others can be significantly increased simply by distances to travel. For example, in my area, specialized medical services are two hours away, so asking someone to drive two hours, wait, and then drive back takes an entire day.
Great information, Sue. I checked to see if there is a Village near my parents, but alas there is not. It really sounds wonderful, though, and there is a Village in the city I hope to move to someday so I will be checking into that for my future. Thanks so much!
The towns I have lived in have always had Councils on Aging / Senior Centers. My mother-in-law used to drive elders to their doctor appointments (in the own I grew up). The center where I lived most of my adult life organized activities, subsidized food, exercise classes, bus rides, excursions and more. This town I moved to has the same plus meals on wheels, donated pastries and coffee, lending libraries, a group of older people (my age and older) that make bears for women and family shelters. It’s all wonderful. When the director was giving me a tour she said the meals on wheels program allowed people to stay in their homes by providing both a meal service and a daily check in. I love this villages concept!
You bring up an excellent point: many communities provide a variety of services for older people. We should start by looking at what communities have to offer already. Thanks for your comment, Chris.
The Village network sounds excellent. My father was very lucky to have a good network of friends, neighbours and social activities up until his death at 87. Not everyone has that.
The key is to stay engaged and not be afraid to seek help when needed. A Village can also be loosely organized with a smaller number of "members" AKA friends and neighbors. Research does show that isolation and disengagement can increase significantly as people live into 70s and 80s. Friends die or become disabled and their circle of friends gets smaller with each death. Thanks for reading and commenting, Juliet.
Yes - I picked on the challenge while reading their website. It seems it takes a smaller village to build a bigger Village! Thanks for reading and commenting, Barbara.
I was surprised to learn about this community model. I think that churches and senior citizens can often serve as a village. Thanks for reading and commenting, Ann.
Yes. There has been a movement across the faith community for a long time called life groups. A lot of them function very well. My husband and I attend one every other Friday now with elderly people, believe it or not, and the sense of having each other‘s back, encouragement, and a community of support has been very beneficial to us during this season. We do need to find one with couples closer in age, but for now this one has been very wonderfully supportive.
The VtVN concept sounds lovely in theory. I wonder about how it would work in a rural area like where I live with literal miles between "neighbors." And being brutally honest with myself, things like organizational meetings and committees are mostly just frustrating to me. BUT I recognize that it's important to acquire new skills that are necessary for different stages of life. Since 2020 (or maybe 2016 actually), I have put more effort into building bridges and nurturing neighborly relationships, participating in community clubs, and finding points of connection and shared interests or values. Informally, that is a type of village concept. I think I should explore the website and see what else I can glean to help that spark grow.
I agree with your thoughts. The village concept works well in urban and suburban settings. The easiest way to access this well-coordinated effort is to move into a neighborhood with a Village established. Building community relationships in rural areas is important in general but effort and time to help others can be significantly increased simply by distances to travel. For example, in my area, specialized medical services are two hours away, so asking someone to drive two hours, wait, and then drive back takes an entire day.
The Village concept is wonderful! Thank you for highlighting it. I had not heard about it.
Great information, Sue. I checked to see if there is a Village near my parents, but alas there is not. It really sounds wonderful, though, and there is a Village in the city I hope to move to someday so I will be checking into that for my future. Thanks so much!
The towns I have lived in have always had Councils on Aging / Senior Centers. My mother-in-law used to drive elders to their doctor appointments (in the own I grew up). The center where I lived most of my adult life organized activities, subsidized food, exercise classes, bus rides, excursions and more. This town I moved to has the same plus meals on wheels, donated pastries and coffee, lending libraries, a group of older people (my age and older) that make bears for women and family shelters. It’s all wonderful. When the director was giving me a tour she said the meals on wheels program allowed people to stay in their homes by providing both a meal service and a daily check in. I love this villages concept!
You bring up an excellent point: many communities provide a variety of services for older people. We should start by looking at what communities have to offer already. Thanks for your comment, Chris.
I've saved this site, as it sounds like something both Rick and I would look into. Thanks, Sue!
I think I saw ten of these orgs in Washington so another way to access them is to move into their neighborhood.
The Village network sounds excellent. My father was very lucky to have a good network of friends, neighbours and social activities up until his death at 87. Not everyone has that.
The key is to stay engaged and not be afraid to seek help when needed. A Village can also be loosely organized with a smaller number of "members" AKA friends and neighbors. Research does show that isolation and disengagement can increase significantly as people live into 70s and 80s. Friends die or become disabled and their circle of friends gets smaller with each death. Thanks for reading and commenting, Juliet.
I zoomed in to vtv network's national conference. It's a huge undertaking, no doubt, but could be worth exploring local interest!
Yes - I picked on the challenge while reading their website. It seems it takes a smaller village to build a bigger Village! Thanks for reading and commenting, Barbara.
Great article to raise awareness that this structured way exists for people who do not have a close knit community and/or a “village.”
I was surprised to learn about this community model. I think that churches and senior citizens can often serve as a village. Thanks for reading and commenting, Ann.
Yes. There has been a movement across the faith community for a long time called life groups. A lot of them function very well. My husband and I attend one every other Friday now with elderly people, believe it or not, and the sense of having each other‘s back, encouragement, and a community of support has been very beneficial to us during this season. We do need to find one with couples closer in age, but for now this one has been very wonderfully supportive.