The following workshop was offered in December 2011. Did you miss it? Don't worry, the Community Action Plan on Aging's Housing Committee can come to your commuity to present the information. Call the Senior Services Coalition at 757-220-3480 to schedule a presentation.
The Senior Services Coalition of Greater Williamsburg and the Community Action Plan on Aging
Present:
Making your Neighborhood More Age-Friendly:
Creating a Neighbor to Neighbor Program in your Community
WHAT: A “How To” workshop that provides the information and resources you need to develop a Neighbor to Neighbor Program in your community.
WHERE: Old Towne Medical Bldg, 5249 Olde Towne Rd, Williamsburg
WHEN: Thursday, December 8th from 7-8:30 pm
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: A recent AARP study found that the majority of seniors would like to age in place in their homes and communities. Neighbor to Neighbor Programs help make our neighborhoods more prepared to not only assist seniors remain in their homes as long as possible, but also help families and singles when faced with emergencies.
HAS IT WORKED BEFORE: YES! Some neighborhoods that already have this program in place are: Ford’s Colony, Colonial Heritage and Kingspoint.
All interested residents of Williamsburg, James City County and York County are invited to attend. There is no cost to attend.
Come to the workshop and find out how it could benefit your neighborhood - and make it an even better place to live!
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How To Manual now available to help you develop a
Neighbor to Neighbor Program in your community!
A recent AARP study found that the majority of seniors would like to age in place in their homes and communities. Neighbor to Neighbor Programs help make our neighborhoods more prepared to not only assist seniors remain in their homes as long as possible, but also help families and singles when faced with emergencies.
The How to Manual was created to help communities interested in learning more about Neighbor to Neighbor Program and to provide resources to those who chose to create such a program. The manual contains a number of documents in Word that you can download and modify to use for your neighborhood. If you have trouble downloading any of the documents or if you would like to have representatives from local Neighbor to Neighbor Programs come to present to your group, please call the Senior Services Coalition at 757/220-3480. We’re here to help!
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August 2011
Consistent with a committee goal to familiarize itself with local housing options for seniors, the meeting was held at Heritage Commons, 236 Commons Way, Williamsburg. Jody Goush, Director of Sales and Marketing served as our host. Jody provided a tour and commentary of the independent living facility, which has been open about 2 years. Here is a summary of the development:
- No buy-in fee, but one time application fee of $1995.
- Offers one and two bedroom apartments.
- All leases are month-to-month.
- Rents range from $1995 to $3400/month.
- Rent includes daily breakfast and dinner, bimonthly housekeeping and linens.
- Pets are allowed with a one- time non-refundable pet fee.
Following the tour, the committee conducted a regular meeting in a conference at Heritage Commons. The tour stimulated discussion about developing an “at-a-glance” reference chart of area facilities, their levels of care, amenities/services and some indication of price range. The chart in The Senior Advocate will serve as a starting point. Donn volunteered to flesh out additional information and seek help from committee members as needed.
The committee discussed the possibility of organizing an “Open House” to provide older adults an opportunity to visit a number of existing independent living developments in one day or over a weekend in a relaxed way that doesn’t involve a strong sales pitch. The “Open House” would be sponsored by local developments who would promote the event through local media outlets. Diane will present the idea at the next SSC Steering Committee meeting to see if the committee should proceed.
Summer intern Ryan Buckland is moving forward with the survey work with realtors re: what seniors are seeking in housing. Diane reported that so far 15 surveys have been completed. Seven realtors agreed on the survey to participate in the in-person interviews. Ryan is working to schedule these interviews.
July 2011
Recruitment:
Diane announced that Nathan Hill is interested in continuing his affiliation with the committee.
Dotty will explore the possible interest of a Stonehouse resident who is a retired senior administrator of a skilled nursing facility.
Debrief of N2N presentation to Sandhill neighborhood:
Barb reported on the event. The audience was the Neighborhood Watch Committee of the Sandhill neighborhood. The CAPOA HC was only a part of the agenda and allocated 20 minutes at the beginning of the session. Barb first presented an abbreviated overview of the Housing Committee and N2N goals. Then, the intent was for reps from Colonial Heritage and Ford’s Colony to report briefly on their N2N programs/efforts. Timing did not permit Ford’s Colony participation, but its brochure was distributed.
Learning/action for future events: Specify to groups that we need a minimum of 20 minutes. Thirty minutes would be better. In advance, clarify timing and roles of participating CAPOA speakers. Speakers should focus on their N2N key information. Keep the presentation “low tech” for small groups. Avoid making this seem complicated, (e.g. discussion about creation of the Colonial Heritage Foundation seemed to confuse the audience.) The Housing Committee will develop a simple one-page, hand-out document with key information and a list of the existing Williamsburg area N2N models and pertinent contacts and phone numbers and/or emails.
Green House Projects:
Diane had emailed out advance information. Dotty presented information about the overall Eden Alternative/Green House Projects and their philosophy of small-scale (10-12 residents), person-centered, skilled nursing residences. Although the movement is nationwide with about 100 units in place, Dotty’s interest and knowledge is based on new efforts in Rochester, NY. There, one entity (in partnership with the NYS Department of Health and RWJohnson Foundation) is creating 20 new Green House sites and renovating its existing traditional skilled nursing home campus into an additional 20+ Green House units. A short video was viewed.
Discussion ensued about the adaptability of this concept for those with physical and mental challenges and other special needs groups, as well as those who need skilled nursing care. Two potential skilled nursing projects (near Ford’s Colony and as part of the new Riverside Doctors Hospital campus) have been postponed/canceled due to economic reasons. There are very few skilled nursing facilities in our immediate area, and they are generally integral to Continuing Care Retirement communities. From web research, it appears that the Va. Mennonite Retirement Community may be pursuing a Green House project.
Action: Dotty will continue to pursue more information including data about construction and resident costs, staffing structure, etc. The goal is to develop “case study” type information to use in conversations with interested parties/key decision makers who might be helpful in moving this concept forward in the Williamsburg area. This type of project requires multiple partners, multiple funding sources and multiple government approvals (zoning, department of health, etc.) Hence, it is a long-term exposure and “engagement” effort. Any committee member unearthing more information about any such efforts in VA should contact Dotty.
Research Project Update:
Ryan reaffirmed the success of the Lunch and Learn session with the Williamsburg Area Association of Realtor, the audience’s interest in the Housing Committee’s goals and its proposed senior housing survey to realtors. However, in post-luncheon follow-up with the WAAR education director, Ryan was informed that the WAAR email list will not be made available to us for survey distribution.
Action: Ryan will follow-up with luncheon attendees to determine their willingness to share the survey within their agencies. He may also need to develop an email list based on public information that is on the web sites of local major realtor agencies. This makes the project more difficult than expected, but still doable.
April 2011
The Housing Committee met with Abbot Woodall, Executive Director of Housing Partnership Inc., to learn about the services HPI offers to seniors and to identify ways the organizations could work together. Initially, CAPOA will focus on increasing awareness among seniors, caregivers, and service providers about the services offered by HPI. The committee is also working to identify possible ways to cover the cost of home modifications for seniors.
March 2011
The Housing Committee, chaired by Barbara Watson, began identifying news articles that address housing issues of interest to seniors. The committee will use these articles to encourage local media to publish articles on housing issues that are less well known, but support the housing needs of seniors.
The committee also reviewed and commented on the outline of the “How To” manual that is being developed to help neighborhoods interested in establishing a Neighbor to Neighbor Program in their community.
February 2011
The Housing Committee, chaired by Barbara Watson, discussed local comprehensive plans and identified a number of physical elements that help make communities more livable for seniors. These include: mixed use (which increases walkability and access to medical and commercial uses), accessory apartments (to allow for multi-generational households), sidewalks (to provide safe options for seniors to exercise), universal design, and workforce housing (both for seniors downsizing to smaller homes and for people employed in the home health care industry.)
The Committee was updated on the City of Williamsburg renovation/expansion of the Blayton Housing, a senior rental community.
January 2011
Last December, The Housing Committee, chaired by Barbara Watson, met with planners from the James City County Planning Department. In January, the committee continued discussing the JCC Comp Plan and decided to focus its efforts on encouraging the development of accessory apartments as well as encouraging developers to incorporate universal design and promoting the development of workforce housing (both for seniors downsizing to smaller homes and for people employed in the home health care industry.)
The Committee also reviewed the City of Williamsburg Comprehensive Plan and discussed the City's plans to renovate and expand the Blayton Senior Housing Development.
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December 2010
The Housing Committee, chaired by Barbara Watson, met with planners from the James City County Planning Department. A number of intersecting priorities were identified including:
· Encouraging developers to incorporate universal design
· Encouraging the development of workforce housing (both for seniors downsizing to smaller homes and for people employed in the home health care industry.)
At the March Board of Supervisors meeting, the Planning Department will present suggested language changes to the Zoning Code that could facilitate the success of the above goals. The planners will share their suggested language with the Committee and encouraged the Committee to make a statement supporting these changes during the public comment period of the BOS meeting.
November 2010:
The Housing Committee, chaired by Barbara Watson, is working to help seniors age-in-place by assisting neighborhoods to establish Neighbor Cares Programs that create social networks in their communities. During the reporting period, the committee:
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Sent information about Neighbor Cares Programs to the Brandon Woods neighborhood. The Neighborhood Association Board will review and determine if they would like CAPOA to make a presentation to the community.
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Followed up with Skipwith Farms Neighborhood Association (Housing Committee presented to the group in September) to see if they had any questions and whether they had decided to create a Neighbor to Neighbor Program. It appears that they are not able to implement a program at this time.
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The Committee decided to refocus its efforts on educating the community at-large about Neighbor to Neighbor Programs by encouraging local print media to run a series of articles about Aging in Place Programs, highlighting successful programs already up and running in Williamsburg. The hope is that this will encourage other communities to consider creating a Program in their neighborhood.
October 2010:
The Housing Committee, chaired by Barbara Watson, is working to help seniors age-in-place by assisting neighborhoods to establish Neighbor Cares Programs that create social networks in their communities. While no two Neighbor Cares programs are the same, most offer access to a wide range of services such as raking leaves, home care, transportation, and grocery shopping. All foster a deeper and more connected sense of community and seek to assist seniors live at home for as long as possible. During the reporting period, the committee worked on the following activities:
- Contacted two neighborhoods who responded to the committee's Spring 2010 survey and who, while they did not attend the May Workshop, have indicated an interest learning more about Neighbor to Neighbor Programs.
- Followed up with Skipwith Farms Neighborhood Association (Housing Committee presented to the group in September) to see if they had any questions and whether they had decided to create a Neighbor to Neighbor Program.
- Continued work to develop a list of items to be collected and used in creating a Best Practices manual. Obtained information from Newport News Aging Department for inclusion in the manual.
- Attended the 4th Annual Aging in Place Conference in Norfolk on October 29th.
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August/September 2010:
During the reporting period, the committee worked on the following activities:
In the Williamsburg Area:
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Maintained contacted with two neighborhoods who participated in the May 17th workshop and which are being considered for selection as pilot sites for the Neighbor Cares project. Pilot sites will receive technical assistance from the Housing Committee to help them establish a Neighbor Cares program tailored to meet the unique needs of their community.
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Presented information about CAPOA and local Neighbor to Neighbor Programs to the Skipwith Farms Neighborhood Association. The presenters included Ursula Murden, who spoke about the Kingspoint neighborhood, and Joan Bender, of Colonial Heritage. Diane Hartley explained the services CAPOA would provide if Skipwith Farms chooses to become a pilot site.
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Continued work to develop a list of items to be collected and used in creating a Best Practices manual. The manual will be made available to interested neighborhoods.
In the larger community:
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Continued to work with Sharon Ayers, City of Newport News, to obtain summaries of the breakout group discussions from the June 5th Reinventing Your Neighborhood event, co-sponsored by the Community Action Plan on Aging (CAPOA) and the Newport News and Hampton Departments of Human Services.
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July 2010:
In July, the committee worked on the following activities:
In the Williamsburg Area:
- Maintained contacted with two neighborhoods who participated in the May 17th workshop and which are being considered for selection as pilot sites for the Neighbor Cares project. Pilot sites will receive technical assistance from the Housing Committee to help them establish a Neighbor Cares program tailored to meet the unique needs of their community. One of the neighborhoods will present the information at its August Board meeting. The Board will decide if they would like CAPOA to present the project at a September community-wide meeting.
- Continued work to develop a list of items to be collected and used in creating a Best Practices manual. The manual will be made available to interested neighborhoods.
In the larger community:
- Completed the data entry and analysis of the evaluation survey completed by attendees of the June 5th Reinventing Your Neighborhood event, co-sponsored by the Community Action Plan on Aging (CAPOA) and the Newport News and Hampton Departments of Human Services.
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June 2010:
In June, the committee worked on the following activities: In the Williamsburg Area:
- Contacted two neighborhoods who participated in the May 17th workshop to describe the process they need to undertake to be selected as pilot sites for the Neighbor Cares project. Pilot sites will receive technical assistance from the Housing Committee to help them establish a Neighbor Cares program tailored to meet the unique needs of their community.
- Developed a list of items to be collected and used in creating a Best Practices manual. The manual will be made available to interested neighborhoods.
In the larger community:
- Over 80 community leaders gathered in Newport News on June 5th to hear national leaders in the Village model movement discuss how such programs can help seniors age in place. The Reinventing Your Neighborhood event, co-sponsored by the Community Action Plan on Aging (CAPOA) and the Newport News and Hampton Departments of Human Services, brought representatives from three Villages: Beacon Hill (Boston, MA), Capitol Hill (Washington DC) and At Home Chesapeake (Anne Arundel County, MD), to the Peninsula to present information detailing how areas throughout the country are transforming their neighborhoods into more supportive communities.
- SSC members Joan Bender and Christy Jensen had an opportunity to speak at the seminar about the CAPOA implementation and efforts underway in specific neighborhoods in the greater Williamsburg area to deliver neighborhood support programs. In addition, Commissioner Linda Nablo, of the Virginia Department for the Aging, attended and offered her comments about how and why the Village movement is so critical to the Commonwealth of Virginia, its older residents, and caregivers. She thanked attendees for representing the Peninsula and for being on the “cutting edge” of these efforts.
- Four breakout groups were created to allow participants to discuss in more detail topics including: marketing/member recruitment; fundraising; founding and board development; and member services, volunteers and vetting providers. A summary of each of breakout group will be posted on the SSC website soon.
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April/May 2010:
The Housing Committee, chaired by Barbara Watson, is working to help seniors age-in-place by assisting neighborhoods to establish Neighbor Care Programs that create neighborhood networks in their communities. While no two Neighbor Care programs are the same, most offer access to a wide range of services such as raking leaves, home care, transportation, and grocery shopping. All foster a deeper and more connected sense of community and seek to assist seniors live at home for as long as possible.
To date, the committee has:
In the Williamsburg Area:
- Distributed an on-line survey to neighborhood associations in Williamsburg, James City County and York County to compile a database of neighborhoods that have or are interested in having a Neighbor Cares program.
- Identified 25 neighborhoods interested in learning more about Neighbor Care programs.
- Held a workshop entitled, “Introduction to Reinventing Your Neighborhood”, 14 neighborhoods expressed interest in the workshop and representatives of four neighborhood associations attended.
- Identified a number of follow-up items to assist interested neighborhoods establish programs.
In the larger community:
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Partnered with the Cities of Newport News and Hampton to organize a “Reinventing Your Neighborhood” event which will be held on June 5th in Newport News.
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Presentations will be made by representatives from three neighborhood-based organizations: Beacon Hill Village, At Home Chesapeake and Capitol Hill Village, who will explain how and why they organized, the types of services they offer, and how services are delivered.
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As of June 2nd, 75 people have registered for the workshop.
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