Beacon Hill Village

Headnote

A civic-minded group of older adults forms its own supportive community and becomes an international model

Beacon Hill Village is an innovative nonprofit organization designed specifically to enable older people to remain in their homes as they age. It was founded by a group of civicminded people on Beacon Hill in downtown Boston who were determined to "age in community" but discovered that the support systems they would need to do so successfully were nonexistent. Surveying the scene in 2000, they found that state and federal programs for older adults were restricted to very poor people and people with disabilities. They visited and observed traditional social service models (assisted living facilities, continuing care retirement communities, and nursing homes) and described them as tending to be regimented, expensive, and isolating.

From the outset, the founders said they were determined not to rely on private social services or government agencies for solutions. They said they wanted to design their own lifestyles and create their own futures. As a result, the group created in Beacon Hill Village a new model for responding to the needs of the older population.

To accomplish the goal of serving the whole person, the Village works in three specific areas. The first is community-building through a vast array of social activities largely arranged around interests shared in common and open to all members.

The second area is member services. Life is filled with quests for information (What is Medicare Plan D? Do you know a good plumber? ) and a need for assistance (a ride to the grocery store, meals delivered, snow shoveled, advice from...