"Villages" help seniors age in their homes.

[merrily]

For openers, Beacon Hill has some very wealthy residents. It's where Kerry's official address was while he was a Senator. It also has poorer residents though. It's one of those city neighborhoods where walking a block or three can make a big difference in the cost of rent and the demographic.

I remember reading about a "village" movement in Boston where people just helped each other, trading services. Maybe a senior would teach someone to knit in exchange for some rides to medical appointments and so on. The arrangement described below is more formal.

"Warehousing" Boomers will not be cheap. Neither will visiting nurse services, home health aides, etc. Wouldn't it be great if government could get flexible enough to consider paying village dues for less fortunate seniors? Disabled, too.

Beacon Hill Village has grown to nearly 400 members throughout Boston. Their annual dues - $925 for a household, or $640 for a single person - get them a wide variety of support services, from drivers for doctor appointments to hiring screened repairmen. It has spawned 78 other “village’’ groups across Massachusetts and the United States, and similar organizations overseas, in Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands. And a recently formed national organization - the Village to Village Network - is also in talks to open 150 more villages across the country.

“This is a common sense movement that comes from elderly organizers themselves,’’ said Judy Willett, the former director of Beacon Hill Village and the new national director of Village to Village, which is based in Newton. “Ultimately, it’s elderly volunteers who organize each village, and every [group] has roughly the same values and same core goal of helping people stay in their homes.’’

..........

Another group, Cambridge At Home, launched in 2007 and now affiliated with Village to Village, has 325 members in Cambridge, Belmont, Arlington, and Watertown, according to executive director Kathy Spirer. Its offerings include a “one call’’ phone service where staff help members with requests that can range from how to hire a snow plow operator to dealing with health insurance issues. Dues also cover grocery deliveries, provided by a transportation company, and a free driving service for members - handled by volunteers - to get to medical appointments or the pharmacy.
Beacon Hill Village members Roger Cox and Barbara Rappaport during a recent lunch.

..........

For an additional fee, members can access a screened list of home service providers, including plumbers, electricians, handymen, physical therapists, home health care assistants, tailors, gardeners, and others. After interviewing each participating vendor, Cambridge At Home secures 10 to 15 percent price discounts from them for its members.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2012/05/19/villages-help-seniors-remain-their-homes-communities/K2WCFsCF03r5Jcnhtt1MkL/story.html

See also http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129086737 and http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/09/garden/09care.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. The same principle works down here, but without "fees"

It's called "community".
We "do" for one other in our neighborhood...rides, shopping, when needed, checking up on frail seniors.
Mr/ Dixie does minor repairs, the family across the street has "adopted" an elderly widow a couple houses up and the kids do her yard work,
etc. (free). I have given rides and gotten rides for medical appts when needed.
Another blessing of small town life.

[merrily]

2. That's lovely. It started without fees here, too, but has morphed into this more formal arrangement