Aging in Berkeley–It Takes a Village

Following is an article by Ashby Village Board Members, Shirley Haberfeld and Pat Sussman.  It is scheduled for publication in Persimmon, an on-line literary magazine for women.

Do you remember that first phone call from your eldest sister?  “What are we going to do about Mom - she doesn’t want any help and she won’t move out of the house”.  That call set the stage for the last years of your widowed mother’s life.  She still lived in the house where you grew up, she’d had some recent falls and sometimes was a bit confused on the phone, but she was still involved with her Wednesday bridge club and tried to get out to church occasionally.  Four of her friends died in the last three years - and so did your father.

Well, now I’m the Mom and I don’t want to wait until one of my kids has to make a phone call like that.

In February 2006, the “New York Times” published an article about a community that had formed in Boston - Beacon Hill Village - dedicated to helping residents in the community age in place - that is, stay in their own homes - not in remote institutions.  The article sparked a conversation between neighbors who met in an Elmwood living room. Each story was different yet somehow the same. We knew we wanted our aging to be different. Our interest was an outgrowth of our own personal experiences as we’ve cared for or found living arrangements for aging parents or dealt with chronic illness with family or friends. We knew we wanted to find a way to continue to age in the self-sustaining community that we cherish. We wanted to plan for our later years now, before a crisis and we wanted to help our friends and neighbors too.  Most of all we wanted to be in charge of those later years and we wanted our kids to know our wishes.

Since January 2007 a group of seven women have been meeting to discuss ways we could support one another as we grow older - much like the Boston project but with that special flare we only find in Berkeley.

Our personal stories aren’t unique, because senior health care and associated conditions are a significant policy issue in the U.S. as the population ages

The 65 and older population is projected to increase to 88.5 million in 2050, more than doubling the number in 2008 (38.7 million). The 85 and older population is expected to more than triple, from 5.4 million to 19 million between 2008 and 2050.

So, given all the statistics, the Beacon Hill model and our own ideas, we decided to found Ashby Village, a non-profit membership organization to provide the information and access to services that will help us remain at home as we age.  Ashby Village members make one phone call to the Ashby Village office to arrange assistance with a specific problem or to find an activity or event they might be interested in. The small Ashby Village team will not only respond quickly to requests for services or information, they’ll make a follow-up call to allow members to evaluate the service they received. A wide range of referral services (paid for by the member) and program benefits (free) are currently being developed. The staff will also research and assess these “approved” service providers.  The annual cost of membership is $1,200 per household ($100 a month) and $750.00 for an individual. Some services such as home care, house-hold repairs, etc will be paid directly by the member - however we expect to be able to provide discounted rates.

What makes this model unique?  The heart of the Village is the grassroots community with its core free and discounted (brokered) services. mechanism through which services are delivered - through a grassroots, member-based, one-stop shopping.  It’s taking a local partnership building process where local service providers, community institutions, medical providers, philanthropists, and organizers come together to create a menu of services for members wishing to live independent of senior residential homes.  Critical to this model is the active leadership and participation of the seniors themselves in every aspect of the programs. The services fall under the headings of Arts and Cultural, Health and Wellness, Community Connections and Daily Living.

In addition to a reduced isolation of seniors in Berkeley and North Oakland, it is expected that communication is enhanced and that gaps are reduced in the services that are provided by others in the community.  The overall goal of Ashby Village is to create strong, healthy communities in which older adults can remain independent with increased security and quality of life in multi-generational, familiar settings….their own homes and neighborhoods.

Our tentative launch date is January 1, 2010.  If enough funding is available we expect to hire an Executive Director this September to pull together the organizational structure and relationships.  At this time, Life Long Medical Care - a well regarded group of community health centers in Berkeley and Oakland, is acting as the Ashby Village fiscal agent and is able to accept donations as well as funding grants.

Since late 2008 we have presented Ashby Village to many Berkeley residents through “living room chats” - a one and a half hour of informal presentation with questions and answers.  People are enthusiastic and have joined working committees and some have taken on short-term projects.

To schedule an Ashby Village Living Room Chat for you and a group of friends and neighbors, email: membership@ashbyvillage.org or phone 204-2860.

Also visit our website at www.Ashbyvillage.org for more information.