At 90 years old, Gloria Gordon wasn’t ready to give up living independently. However, there was no question that it came with challenges. Inspired by a news story she had seen, she gathered a group of her neighbors in the Central West End to start a grassroots organization. The goal was simple: Work together to make aging in place more accessible and improve quality of life for older adults. A decade later, STL Village is a community of local seniors working to stay independent, active and engaged across the St. Louis region.
STL Village is part of a national movement. It started in 2001 when residents of the Beacon Hill neighborhood in Boston created a plan to support one another to ensure they could remain living independently in their homes. “The Village model builds upon an old concept of people working together as they age,” STL Village executive director Madeline Franklin explains. “We have a governing body that establishes policy, and our programs and activities are generated by our members.” Today, there are more than 240 Villages across the country, with even more in development.
There are three main components of STL Village’s programming. The first is assistance with daily household tasks thanks to volunteers. “For many older adults, chores are difficult or may be unsafe to do,” Franklin says. “Our volunteers help with things like raking leaves, shoveling snow and changing light bulbs. They also can help walk the dog or provide assistance with technology like setting up a computer or navigating email.” A major component of the volunteer program is transportation, ensuring Village members who can no longer drive can access doctors appointments, the grocery store and more. Since volunteers cannot help with every task, STL Village also connects members with preferred providers for larger household projects and other concerns, like in-home health care.
The final part of STL Village’s services are providing members with activities and programs. Last year, the nonprofit hosted more than 100 events, ranging from monthly coffee groups and art classes to visiting wineries and taking docent-led tours of local museums. “We visit places our members have always wanted to go but maybe didn’t have the opportunity in the past, and we also go out of town,” Franklin notes. “We’ve gone as far as Chicago, Kansas City and Bentonville, Arkansas. The bus is always humming with excitement.”
To make its programming possible, STL Village relies on membership fees. Full membership is open to anyone age 50 and older who lives within the membership service area. It includes access to in-home support, preferred providers and social activities. Associate membership isn’t limited by a geographic footprint. It’s an option for older adults who do not currently need assistance at home but would still like to participate in social activities. “Diversity and accessibility were important issues to our founding members,” Franklin says. “They established the Gloria Gordon Fund, which offers subsidized memberships for people who earn less than $40,000 a year. Thanks to support from the City of St. Louis Senior Fund, we’ve also been able to offer free memberships.”
This year, STL Village will celebrate its 10th anniversary. Franklin notes that it’s an exciting milestone, especially considering the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has presented in recent years. The organization primarily relies on meeting in person, so it had to find a way to transition its programming. “The pandemic was a time when many older people were becoming isolated, so we knew we had to adapt,” she says. “We were able to successfully transition to meeting online, which meant a lot to our members when they were confined to their homes.”
From its inception as a group of neighbors banning together, STL Village has grown to be a thriving community. Beyond offering in-home support, the nonprofit has become a source of connection and camaraderie for its members. “As you get older, your circle of friends diminishes,” Franklin notes. “You don’t have a network of colleagues to pull from and opportunities to socialize don’t happen all of the time. STL Village offers a way to meet people, develop friendships and stay involved in the St. Louis community. We have members with a wide range of experiences and backgrounds. All of these people coming together and sharing these unique things makes for a vibrant experience.”
For more information, visit stlvillage.org.
Photos courtesy of STL Village