As part of a national movement, the Village Network of Petaluma empowers older adults to live active, vibrant, and connected lives in the places we call home as we age. In early 2012, our founder, Anne Greenblatt, attended a national conference on the Village model, an innovative concept for aging in community that has spread rapidly across the nation, with more than 200 Villages as of 2017. The p
urpose of a Village is to enable people to live affordably in their own homes for as long as they can, as well as they can, engaged with a trusted, supportive, and fun community of people. This concept is inspired and supported by the nationwide Village to Village Network (VtV), a national peer to peer network to help communities establish and continuously improve management of their own Villages. Before launching, we worked for two years to build a team of volunteers interested in exploring the Village concept for Petaluma. We met with community volunteers and social agencies within Petaluma to discover gaps in services and community needs. We wanted very much to collaborate with existing community organizations, and not duplicate service. We learned from seniors and senior service providers that our communities most pressing needs in this area include transportation, comprehensive information and referral, avoiding fraud, and supporting social connections. Many people agreed that there was a need for an affordable, mutually supportive community of older adults who can provide a way to live in one's own home affordably, independently, *and* actively engaged in community. Members are encouraged to connect with others, contribute their skills and volunteer, if able, as part of the support network. Volunteers of all ages are needed to provide services and social activities! We are located at 410 D St.. (at 5th, on the United Methodist Church campus). You can contact the Village Network at [email protected] or 707-776-6055. Our mailing address is P.O. Box 442, Petaluma CA 94953.
