Greater Newburyport Village - The Value of Community and Choice as We Grow Older with Atul Gawande MD, MPH, author of Being Mortal Join Us to Celebrate 15 Years of the Village Movement!

Watch Party
Being Mortal’s Village:
The Value of Community and Choice as We Grow Older
with Atul Gawande MD, MPH, author of Being Mortal
Join Us to Celebrate 15 Years of the Village Movement!
 
Members, volunteers, friends and those who would like to learn more about the Village are invited to attend.
 
To celebrate its 15th anniversary and the Village movement it inspired, Beacon Hill Village in Boston has invited Villages around the country to participate “virtually” in an event featuring Dr. Atul Gawande, MD, MPH, author of the seminal book Being Mortal.
 
Dr. Gawande is a renowned surgeon, public health researcher and writer, who will speak about the value of community and opportunities as we grow older. While Dr. Gawande’s book title alludes to death, the stories in it are actually about life. He describes people’s efforts to maintain autonomy as they age in the face of ingrained habits, cultural expectations and one-size-fits-all corporate offerings. He includes Beacon Hill Village and the Village model as an option for assisting older adults in their efforts, which has often meant providing services and extending community to people who want to remain in their own homes and enjoy the rich stew of activities, attributes, attitudes and ages that engage the community’s older adult population.
 
Choice and community are concepts honored throughout the Village Movement. These concepts are behind the underlying principles that lead to the founding of Beacon Hill Village and subsequent 200+ Villages that impact the lives of older adults across the country. One of the great issues worldwide today is how to support and care for aging populations. By 2030, twenty percent (20%) of our nation’s population will be over 65, an estimated 83 million people. The Village Concept and Dr. Gawande’s profound understanding of the importance of choice and community offer valuable insights and solutions for this challenging phenomenon.
 
The History of the Village Movement:
In 1999, a group of friends gathered to talk about their future in central Boston. They wanted more freedom and control over their lives as they aged. They also wanted to be active, taking care of themselves and each other, rather than being taken care of.
 
The Village Movement was born by the formation of Beacon Hill Village, which enrolled its first members in February 2002 and was soon deluged with requests for help from other groups wanting to form their own Villages. Our own Greater Newburyport Village became operational in March of 2016 and has grown to over fifty members.
 
Today, we are one of more than 200 open Villages and more than 150 in development in 45 states and the District of Columbia that serve 40,000+ members just like you. In 2010, the Village to Village Network was formed to ensure the success of individual Villages and the Village Movement through expert guidance, resources and support.
 
For more information, please contact services@greaternewburyportvillage.org.