Neighborhood Group Looks to Activate “Village”

The Waterfront Gateway Neighborhood Association, an affiliation of eight homeowners’ associations along G St. SW, has started exploratory steps to establish Waterfront Village to serve the greater Southwest community. The village concept is a community-based approach to aging that incorporates principles of a naturally occurring retirement community (NORC), which is a community with a high percentage of senior residents that was not designed to meet their aging needs, and federal area agencies on aging programs. There are more than 180 villages worldwide between Australia, the Netherlands, and the United States, with eight in the District of Columbia.

The goal is to ensure that our aging neighbors have the confidence and practical means to stay in their own homes throughout their lives. Village members gain access to a range of professional and volunteer services and a variety of educational and social programs. Volunteers and staff also provide transportation to events and appointments, medical and legal advocacy, advice on home renovations, and other services.

For further updates on Waterfront Village, join the listserv by emailing dcwaterfrontvillage@gmail.com or calling 202-812-0291. For more information on NORCs, please see www.norcs.org; on the village program see www.vtvnetwork.org; and on the Waterfront Gateway Neighborhood Association www.dcwaterfrontgateway.org.