‘Village’ network helps older residents stay in their homes

The Columbus Dispatch

COLUMBUS

Gone are John Fuller’s days of paying his neighbors for rides to Kroger.

The 84-year-old Fuller now gets rides to the grocery store from At Home by High, a membership network for older adults in the Short North and surrounding neighborhoods aimed at helping them remain in their homes and neighborhoods as they age.

At Home by High is part of a national network of “villages” and one of three in Columbus. But not for long.

A village on the Hilltop will launch early next year, and the concept might continue spreading in Columbus and into the suburbs, said Katie White, director of Age-Friendly Columbus, an initiative started in 2016 to ensure that older adults have opportunities to stay in their homes and enjoy safe and active lifestyles.

The first village in Columbus started in 2014 in the German Village neighborhood. One in Clintonville – Village in the Ville – launched in April 2015, and At Home by High followed in January 2017.

The expansion in Columbus mirrors a broader national trend. In May 2011, there were 56 villages in the United States. There are at least 350 now, according to the Village to Village Network, a national membership group.

A key reason they keep growing? Because they appear to be beneficial, said Carrie Graham, director of health policy at Health Research for Action center at the University of California, Berkeley.

While the characteristics of each village vary, this is how they typically work: Anyone age 50 or older can join. Usually, there’s a membership fee. A village director organizes social events, such as lunches and weekly coffee-shop visits or trips to museums and the movies.

Then there’s the service piece: Villages build a group of volunteers to help members with a variety of needs, and some members also volunteer to help other older adults. Sometimes it’s giving a member a ride to the grocery store or to the doctor. Or it can be helping around the house, such as raking leaves or retrieving something from an attic or helping with technology.

Most villages also offer preferred service providers, which are essentially lists of companies or people deemed trustworthy by the village to help with things volunteers cannot, such as plumbing.