SHELBURNE FALLS — When are people too old to live alone? When they no longer drive a car? When they can’t climb a step-ladder to change a light bulb? When no one comes to visit?
A program called Village to Village Network is coming to grips with such questions by forming volunteer networks in hundreds of places throughout the country to provide help that enables people to stay in their homes as they age.
A Buckland-Shelburne Village to Village group is now forming, and the participants are holding an informational meeting about this new group at 7 tonight, Aug. 14, at the Buckland Public Library on Upper Street.
“We’re following the footsteps of people in Leverett and Northfield,” says Diane Poland, president of the Buckland-Shelburne neighbors’ network. She said the group has applied for nonprofit (501C3) status and is hoping to recruit seniors who might need occasional help as well as volunteers to do such things as change light bulbs, pay social visits or provide rides to medical practices if unexpected health problems arise.
“We’re really just beginning,” Poland said. “We’ve met with some of the churches and the senior center. We’re forming a board of directors.”
Besides Poland of Shelburne Falls, officers of the new group include Nancy Eisenstein and Carole Groman.
According to its website, Village to Village Network started in Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood in 2002, and this mutual support network has become the model for aging-support villages in many other communities — and even other countries.
According to Poland, there are now at least 400 Village to Village networks throughout the U.S. She said the organizers are hoping to develop a network to serve all of Buckland and Shelburne.
Some systems have a paid dispatcher to take calls and find volunteers, while others have all-volunteer help. She said those who sign up to receive help will be asked to pay $100 per year to help offset costs to run the program. “People pay into it,” she said. “But if you can’t afford it, nobody is left behind.”
For more information, email Poland at: dpoland35@gmail.com.
The national website is: vtvnetwork.clubexpress.com