Blog archive
April 2024
Stimulated by "Caste"
04/22/2024
Tulsa reparations, Religion and Politics
04/09/2024
March 2024
Trumps War with Black Women
03/31/2024
Addressing The Needs of Older Adults Through Pasadena Village
03/25/2024
Coming Soon: More Resources for Older Americans, Online and in Person
03/25/2024
Community Building Locally and Nationally
03/25/2024
Preparing for the Future with Ready or Not
03/25/2024
Volunteering is at The Heart of the Village
03/25/2024
Women's Liberation: Then and Now
03/25/2024
Writing Memoirs Together
03/25/2024
Current Views on Current Events
03/20/2024
Unchained
03/18/2024
Rumr of Humor issue # 2409
03/10/2024
Blacks Portrayed by European Artists
03/03/2024
Rumor of Humor #2408
03/03/2024
February 2024
Caring for Ourselves and Each Other
02/27/2024
Doug Colliflower Honored
02/27/2024
Great Decisions Connects Us to the Worldwide Community
02/27/2024
Letter from the President
02/27/2024
Pasadena Village's Impact
02/27/2024
The Power of Touch
02/27/2024
Villages as a New Approach to Aging
02/27/2024
Addressing Gang Violence in Pasadena-Altadena
02/21/2024
Rumor of Humor Issue 2407
02/19/2024
Thank You For Caring.
02/12/2024
Rumor of Humor 2405
02/11/2024
Curve Balls
02/10/2024
Sylvan Lane
02/10/2024
Rumor of Humor 2404
02/09/2024
Larry Duplechan, Blacks in Film
02/03/2024
January 2024
Pasadena Village Joins Community Partners in Vaccination Campaign
01/29/2024
Rumor of Humor #2403
01/28/2024
Pasadena Village Joins Two Healthy Aging Resource Projects
01/25/2024
Decluttering: Do It Now
01/24/2024
Village Volunteers Contribute to the Huntington Magic
01/24/2024
Villagers Creating Community
01/24/2024
Villagers Reflect on Black History Month
01/24/2024
Walk With Ease, 2024
01/24/2024
Wide Ranging Discussion on Current Issues
01/22/2024
Wide Ranging Discussion on Current Issues
01/22/2024
Rumor of Humor # 2402
01/21/2024
Rumor of Humor # 2401
01/15/2024
Re- Entry Programs, a Personal Experience
01/08/2024
Pasadena Village Joins Two Healthy Aging Resource Projects
By Ed MervinePosted: 01/25/2024
Author: Ed Mervine & Dick Myers
Pasadena Villagers know that the Village works for them — that fact is reinforced at every gathering and on every page of the website. The energy and excitement we create is palpable. So it’s natural that we would want to spread the word and make the Village available to more people. Not only are we living richer, more rewarding lives but by creating a model and opening it to others, we are also making an important contribution to our communities and to the nation as a whole.
Ask people why the Village works and you get a variety of answers. But most credit the Village’s model of self-governance and mutual support delivered through the talents of its members as what allows Villagers to realize their potential. Benefits manifest as happier, longer and healthier lives. Public policymakers have taken note, seeing a potential low-cost solution to the high public cost of aging. But we are a nation that claims to make decisions and public policy based on evidence. What evidence do we have? Do we know what Villagers do? Or in what ways they actually provide support to other members? Are Villagers healthier than aging non-Villagers? Do they spend less time in the hospital? Are they less isolated? Do they live longer? Pasadena Village (PV) has some data and is strengthening its aggregating capacity but we rely largely on anecdotal evidence.
Two-plus years ago, PV leaders, the Village to Village Network (VtVN) and other academic and research organizations launched two projects to generate evidence measuring Village impact.
First, the Village Impact Project (VIP), a multi-year project led by the VtVN, seeks to gather information on the services, programs, and events that Villages provide their members. VtVN worked with Helpful Village and Run My Village to develop a common taxonomy and to make changes to their systems that allow for easier aggregation of participating Village data. PV installed the Helpful Village’s version about 12 months ago and is implementing changes, starting with the Volunteer Module. The VIP will begin aggregating data and disseminating results over the next year. As we become more skilled at collecting, aggregating, and analyzing our own data, PV will be able to compare what we are doing to what other Villages are doing.
The emphasis of the second project, “Engaging Villages in Healthy Aging Research,” is on engagement. Rutgers University, the VtVN and the Rand Corporation launched this project in August 2023 with funding from an Engagement Award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). This project has four components:
1. Website: A well-designed and easy-to-navigate site with current information concerning both projects is available at villagesresearch.org.
2. Zoom Discussion Groups: Researchers, Pasadena Villagers, staff and board members participated in five sessions held in October. These focus groups were designed to develop a shared understanding of the health outcomes that are the most important to Villagers. Rand Corporation researchers will analyze recordings of the sessions and report findings in spring 2024.
3. Villages Healthy Aging Research Ambassadors Group: Researchers and representatives from Villages across the country gather on Zoom to plan, design and implement virtual Regional Summits concerning Villages and healthy aging research. Ambassadors will meet twice monthly, February through May.
4. And finally, the Regional Summits: These will be held in June and July 2024 and will be conversations about a) how research can benefit Villages and the science of healthy aging and b) how to engage Villagers in healthy aging research.
Ultimately, better-designed research is expected to yield findings that document the benefits of Village membership and will better inform public policy and funding decisions. For Pasadena Village, the findings will allow us to know ourselves better, to evaluate what we do and to plan future programs and activities. We know from our experience that Village membership is a remedy for isolation and loneliness. Future research findings could provide the documentation we need to make a stronger case to the world.