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Viva Village
By Jennifer Hemmeyer

Ninety percent of Oregonians, 65 years of age and older, wish to continue living in their homes as long as possible, according to data collected by the American Association of Retired Persons. Viva Village seeks to bring this wish to fruition.

Nancy Miller is excited about te otpions offered to seniors by the Villages movement

I recently met with Ross and Nancy Miller in their Cedar Mill home of 21 years to learn more about their work with Viva Village. “We like our neighborhood,” explains Ross Miller. “We like seeing the kids, closely followed by their parents and the family dog, walk to school every day.”

“The idea of going to live with a bunch of old people like ourselves doesn’t appeal,” laughs Ross. The couple shared how they’d visited friends who’d moved into assisted living facilities. “The facilities are clean and safe, but people are bored, and they have no hope,” explains Nancy.

Nancy Miller, co-chair of Viva, attended her first village meeting in January 2014 at the Elsie Stuhr Center. Ross became involved in marketing for the group, and outreach to local congregations. Skilled seniors have stepped forward at the right time. “A treasurer appeared when we needed one,” says Nancy, “and then a retired editor appeared when we started working on our print material.” Over the past year and a half, nearly 300 people have expressed interest in the movement. Ross explains,“We came up with the name Viva, developed the logo and defined the (geographical) boundaries.”

Viva Village service area

Rae Coleman attended that same intro meeting at the Elsie Stuhr Center and became Viva’s other co-chair. She’d just moved back home to Portland, after being away for 40 years, to help care for her mom. Due to the tremendous effort of immediate family, Rae’s mom was able to live comfortably in Rae’s sister’s home until she died. Because of this experience, Rae found herself wondering, “What do people do in this situation who don’t have family around?” She believes that a village community could provide support, and combat the isolation that faces those aging alone.

Viva Village is the local group of an international movement embracing “aging in place.” With the proper community support, seniors can thrive in their own homes for as long as possible. The idea is to create a network of resources tailored specifically to the needs of village members.

For an annual fee, which typically ranges from $500-$700, members have access to an array of services. Most villages have arrangements with nurses to provide home health services. The village screens a variety of companies that provide services, which then offer a discounted rate to village members. “It’s a little bit like Angie’s List,” says Ross. The development of a network takes time, because “it’s totally democratic,” explains Ross.

Organizers are reaching out to Citizen Participation Organizations (CPOs), neighborhood associations, and communities of faith in the greater Beaverton area. Next, they will meet with focus groups to determine needs specific to the Beaverton community. Viva holds monthly planning sessions and hopes to launch in the summer of 2016. They need about 300 members to be successful. They envision staffing an office manager and volunteer coordinator.

Viva is raising money through the Virtual Bricks campaign

While seniors’ needs vary, assistance in the areas of technical support, transportation, and accessing opportunities to stay active often top the list. Village members say these three services can make the difference between moving into a care facility and continuing to live independently. The Millers explained how North Oakland Village in California has many members in their nineties, so one of their most requested services is to have volunteers stop by regularly to chat and check in. Other villages provide volunteers to help with home maintenance, companionship and social outings. Services are completely determined by the needs of village members.

The village movement dates to the 2001 founding of Beacon Hill Village in Boston. Since then, villages have sprung up all over the country, as well as in Holland, Australia and Canada. In 2010, the Village to Village Network was created for resource-sharing among these communities. Locally, Villages Northwest, a nonprofit, has been established as the hub for the seven villages in progress in the greater Portland area. These developing villages benefit from this nonprofit status, grants and resource-sharing. Bend and Ashland are the closest operating villages.

Staying in one’s home and maintaining one’s independence goes beyond preference. “It’s a social justice issue,” says Ross. Every day, 10,000 Americans turn 65. Senior living facilities can’t be built quickly enough to support this growing population, and even if they could be, the average monthly rate of $3000 precludes many seniors from pursuing this option. Viva plans to subsidize 10% of its members’ annual fee so that the benefits reach those who may not otherwise be able to afford them.

How to Get Involved

Attend the next informational meeting, Village 101, on Saturday, June 27 from 11 am-12:30 at the Beaverton library. Viva welcomes anyone interested in both shaping, and benefiting from, this community network. Currently, they are working to raise $5000 to cover the cost of basic materials. Go to www.vivavillage.org to donate a virtual brick to help pave the road to the village. A contributor can get his or her name on this brick on their website, and the donation is tax deductible.

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