By Jack Cumming
There is a growing number of alternatives to moving to a CCRC for seniors to consider before making a move. The CCRC option can be difficult. It often requires paying a large entrance fee, giving up homeownership, and accepting corporate direction. Co-housing is one option that allows seniors the benefit of shared living with mutual support. Apartment living and Active Adult (55+) communities are also popular.
The Village Opportunity
Often overlooked in this assortment of options is the “village movement,” which primarily appeals to older people who are still physically and cognitively capable. The village movement allows people to stay put in their accustomed homes while enjoying social gatherings and minimal support services. In that sense, villages supplement the services of senior centers. It’s not surprising, therefore, that an increasing number of villages are affiliated with senior centers and the area agencies on aging that support them.
Many area agencies on aging have begun to help with the formation of villages as an empowerment opportunity for older people. As time goes on, the growing presence of villages may pose a challenge for CCRC marketing, or, paradoxically, enhance it. Surprisingly, almost no CCRCs sponsor the formation of villages, even though they can be a powerful channel to funnel prospective residents who become age-afflicted (weak or confused) toward a CCRC or assisted living community.
The CCRC/AL Solution to the Village Pitfall
Many people pass the magic age of 70 but don’t feel any different from how they felt ten years earlier. That can make it attractive to put off any decision, like moving to a CCRC, until later. When later comes, though, they may find it difficult to shop for an alternative. The village model gives them an alternative to prepare for later. Imagine how comfortable they can become with a well-managed CCRC if that CCRC is a sponsor for their village.
The attraction of villages is that they are not outright alternatives to the CCRC or assisted living models for managing the challenges of aging. Instead, villages can complement and support a CCRC. Villages appeal to younger oldsters, and they can be more effective if there is an obvious care-intensive home for aging’s next step. Villages and CCRCs can complement each other. They are not natural competitors.
Learning More
How can you learn more about villages? The village movement’s national organization is the Village to Village Network, which is a grassroots organization. You can start with their website, which has many useful materials. One thing you will learn is that villages vary in size from very small to several hundred members, supported by a large cadre of volunteers. You can also learn that there is no standard village model aside from the demographic to which villages appeal. It is often said that there is no standardization for CCRCs. That’s even more the case for villages.
Beyond what you can learn about villages from a Google search with a little help from AI, the Village to Village Network also hosts educational events and an annual conference. There’s a small conference in conjunction with the LeadingAge meeting, which will be in Philadelphia this year. More prominently, though, is the Virtual Conference, which this year will gather for three days of educational content from September 22 to 24. Not only is the virtual agenda rich, but it also spares you the inconvenience and expense of travel.
Virtual Conference
To give you a sense of the high caliber of this year’s Virtual Conference, consider the recent announcement that Edwin L. Walker will be the keynote speaker. Mr. Walker was the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aging until he ended his 40 years of federal service by saying that he is not “retired, but rewired.” As Mr. Walker’s participation suggests, villages are not seen as commercial in the way many CCRC and assisted living organizations are.
Mr. Walker guided the development of home and community-based long-term care and elder justice programs, enabling older adults and their caregivers to age with dignity and independence and be free from abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Click here for the full agenda.
Village to Village Network is offering an early-bird registration rate for only $50, $75 for non-members, which I think you’ll agree is a bargain for an event that might be so beneficial for your organization and your own future. Early bird rates end August 15, so it’s best to register now while you’re thinking of it. Even if your employer doesn’t reimburse travel and registration, this is affordable.
I have doubts that Village members can afford today’s CCRCs. I also have doubts that there is anything significant that would make a relationship between a village and a CCRC mutually beneficial. A village is not an alternative to a CCRC, as the title implies.