Elder Villages
Last updated May 2022
Although in contemporary America seniors are less likely to live with their children, compared to other parts of the world, AARP’s 2021 “Home and Community Preferences Survey” found that 52 percent of U.S. adults live in multigenerational households. AARP reported that “among those polled, 40 percent said they care for someone living in their home and 38 percent look after someone living on their own. Of those, nearly half worried about the ability of the person they care for to continue living independently.”
Even if you have children or other relatives who can help you out, a key part of aging in place involves setting up a support system for your social, personal, and medical needs. Think of this as creating a stand-in family.
That’s where elder villages come in. These are usually neighborhood-focused networks that offer social, medical, and household resources (usually from volunteers) that can help you stay in place.
In 2001 a handful of older residents of Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood became concerned about how they would stay in their neighborhood and their homes into their 80s and 90s. This led to the founding of the country’s first elder village, Beacon Hill Village, a volunteer neighborhood group designed to provide social connections and practical assistance to older adults. There are now hundreds of these villages in the U.S., with many more in development. Some cover entire counties; others focus on small, often walkable neighborhoods.
Each village offers a range of services and benefits, from finding teenagers to play chess with residents to helping with grocery shopping. Typically, a small tax-deductible fee (usually $100 to $500 a year, with many villages offering scholarships for lower-income residents) lets members take advantage of benefits like rides to medical appointments, dog-walking, yardwork, home fix-ups, and tech assistance. The most active villages also offer social activities like book clubs and walking groups.
If there’s no village in your area, you can help found one. You’ll need to:
- Organize a group of nearby neighbors interested in staying in their homes.
- You can learn about the village model and get referrals to other resources at the Village to Village Network website. You can sign up for a 12-month “Opportunity Member Trial Membership” for $175, with access to its library of documents, webinars, toolkits, and other resources. (Regular memberships cost $200 to $425/year per village, depending on size and model.)
- Decide on a geographic area you’d like to cover. Many active villages serve smaller walkable neighborhoods; some encompass whole counties.
- To avoid duplicating services already offered for free or almost free by local governments, talk to local councils or agencies on aging (see the list below). Also find out if your local aging agencies have policies or programs to encourage village-forming.
- Evaluate whether you’d like to operate the village as a primarily volunteer operation (lower operating costs and membership fees) or a staffed organization. Volunteer villages often grow into staffed villages as membership increases.
- Can you establish a brick-and-mortar headquarters, or do you want to run the village remotely? Both have advantages and disadvantages. Having a physical location often benefits members, but it can be expensive.
Listed below are active villages we could find operating in the Delaware Valley area. Did we miss any? Have an update to the info we collected? Email us at [email protected]. We’ll try to keep this list up to date.
Elder Villages in the Delaware Valley Area
East Falls Village
- P.O. Box 12672, Philadelphia, PA, 267-444-4507, eastfallsvillage.org
- Serves residents of the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia
- Social and educational events, grocery shopping, pet care, mail pick-up, exercise opportunities, service referrals and discounts, transportation, technology assistance, friendly visits and phone calls, minor home maintenance, interest groups, light outdoor chores, and volunteer opportunities
- Annual membership fees: $125 individual, $175 household; Non-resident membership (no volunteer services): $75 individual, $100 household; assisted memberships available
It Takes a Village NJ
- P.O. Box 241, Moorestown, NJ, 856-396-5783, itavnj.org
- Serves the residents of Cinnaminson, Delran, Hainesport, Maple Shade, Moorestown, and Mount Laurel
- Transportation, errand help, companionship, and caregiver breaks
- No membership dues; funded by donations
Ivins Outreach Center Staying Put in Lower Bucks
- 80 W. Trenton Avenue, Morrisville, PA, 215-428-0500, ivinsoutreach.org
- Serves age 55+ residents of Lower Bucks County
- Transportation, errand help, friendly phone calls and visits, social events, medical appointment notes, educational seminars, technology assistance, minor home maintenance, service referrals, and home safety assessments
- Annual membership fees: $350 individual, $500 couple
Northwest Village Network
- P.O. Box 4330, 8227 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA, 267-571-9697, northwestvillagenetwork.org
- Serves residents of Chestnut Hill, Mount Airy, Germantown, and surrounding areas
- Cat care co-op, transportation, technology assistance, discounts, social events, educational programs, volunteer opportunities, interest groups, home visits, and short-term support including meals, errands, and pet care
- Annual membership fees: $125 individual, $175 household; reduced membership fees available
Penn’s Village
- 201 S. 21st Street, Philadelphia, PA, 215-925-7333, pennsvillage.org
- Serves the residents of central Philadelphia between Girard Ave to the North and Washington Ave to the South, and between the rivers
- Transportation, social, educational and cultural events, errands, technology assistance, minor household repairs and chores, home organization, medical appointment help, friendly phone calls and visits, temporary pet care, interest groups
- Annual household membership fees: Villager level (receives up to three volunteer services per week) $600; neighbor level (may sample volunteer services) $200; contributor members (access to educational, cultural and social programs) $100
Senior Community Services Aging At Home
- 1515 Lansdowne Avenue, Darby, PA, 484-534-2201, scsdelco.org/programs/aging-home.shtml
- Serves the residents of Greater Lansdowne and Ridley age 60 and up
- Transportation, yardwork, minor home repairs, snow shoveling, chores, technology assistance
- Annual membership fee: $35 individual
Surrey Services–Broomall
- 144 Lawrence Road, Broomall, PA, 215-307-7158, surreyservices.org/venue/broomall
- Social, educational, and cultural events, exercise classes, interest groups, volunteer opportunities, transportation, grab-and-go and delivered meals, technology assistance, access to Technology Lending Library, friendly phone calls, Medicare counseling, AARP tax preparation services, grocery shopping, support groups, and consignment at Surrey Consignment Shop
- Annual membership fee: $50 individual; membership subsidies available
Surrey Services–Devon
- 60 Surrey Way, Devon, PA, 610-647-6404, surreyservices.org/venue/devon
- Social, educational, and cultural events, exercise classes, interest groups, volunteer opportunities, transportation, grab-and-go and delivered meals, technology assistance, access to Technology Lending Library, friendly phone calls, Medicare counseling, AARP tax preparation services, grocery shopping, support groups, and consignment at Surrey Consignment Shop
- Annual membership fee: $50 individual; membership subsidies available
Surrey Services–Havertown
- 401 Brookline Boulevard, Havertown, PA, 610-446-2070, surreyservices.org/venue/havertown
- Social, educational, and cultural events, exercise classes, interest groups, volunteer opportunities, transportation, grab-and-go and delivered meals, technology assistance, access to Technology Lending Library, friendly phone calls, Medicare counseling, AARP tax preparation services, grocery shopping, support groups, and consignment at Surrey Consignment Shop
- Annual membership fee: $50 individual; membership subsidies available
Surrey Services for Seniors – Media
- 302 S. Jackson Street, Media, PA, 610-566-0505, surreyservices.org/venue/media
- Social, educational, and cultural events, exercise classes, trips, lunches, volunteer opportunities, access to Surrey Services including home and personal care, transportation, care management, and consignment
- Annual membership fee: $50 individual; membership subsidies available