New Project Now Launching!
Friday, January 17, 2014 at 5:06PM Join a team of collaborative aging leaders and help other seniors explore alternatives to the status quo!
With its new CAN Project (Collaborative Aging Network), Elders Village is forming a team of senior volunteers to create and maintain a peer-to-peer training and counseling service in the East Bay, which we envision being duplicated later in other communities. This project is made possible by the Making A BIG Difference (MABD) grant provided by Coming of Age:Bay Area, the local chapter of a national initiative launched to help people aged 50+ explore their futures and contribute to their communities.
Seniors need a place to explore various types of collaborative living arrangements. The nation's supply of affordable senior housing is stagnant, while the senior population is set to explode as the Baby Boomers reach retirement. Creative, new arrangements must be formed at the grassroots level, since government programs cannot keep up with current demands and may fall even further behind over time.
People who are seeking alternatives have few chances to explore how and what to do. We will change that with a group of trained peer-to-peer trainers and counselors. With the support of Elders Village, this team of volunteer leaders will provide an environment in which people can conveniently learn the nuts and bolts of cooperative living, and discuss various strategies for successful aging in community. Together, everyone will champion a culture of cooperation, and help create grassroots, sustainable communities that address the needs of their aging members.
CAN Volunteer Counselors will participate in all aspects of this program, including strategic planning, community outreach, policy formation, training/supervision of new volunteers, facilitation of group sessions, instruction in the mechanics of cooperative living. Training sessions will be held at the Elders Village Community Room in Alameda, and training costs of the first 10 volunteer counselors are covered by the MABD grant.
To request an application, please contact us by email at eldersvillage@alamedaelder.com or by phone at (510) 217-8527 (ask for Kryspin Turczynski, CAN Project Coordinator).
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