Defining a Liveable Community in our region

Though the term Liveable Community varies depending on place, Aging Together aligns their vision with the definition provided by AARP (Click Here): “A liveable community is one that is safe and secure, has affordable and appropriate housing and transportation options, and offers supportive community features and services. Once in place, those resources:

• enhance personal independence
• allow residents to remain in their homes and communities as they age
• foster residents' engagement in the community's civic, economic, and social life.”

Development of Liveable Communities is a boundless process that takes years to shape. A community must work collectively so that all sectors and demographics are represented in its evolution. Planning groups include service providers, first responders, industry professionals, aging residents, caregivers, government agencies, faith-based groups and others. In Aging Together’s region (Planning District 9) the common themes identified as essential for liveable communities are not unique. Throughout the country, models for “age friendly” communities have been emerging and a successful community usually embraces the following components:

• Housing – with choices that are affordable and appropriate for needs at different ages and abilities
• Transportation - that enables people to get around by designing and providing public spaces with ramps, level surfaces and no-step entries to buildings as opposed to stairs; and provision of basic amenities such as a grocer and pharmacy nearby so that people do not need to get into a car to meet their daily needs
• Outdoor spaces and buildings - that foster intergenerational social interaction and community involvement with opportunities for engagement; and where one can safely enjoy outdoor activities such as walking and riding a bike
• Community Support & Health Services
• Communication & Information – including accessibility to technology such as Wi-Fi to stay connected
• Civic Participation and employment if desired
• Respect and Social Inclusion – of all ages as well as other genres of diversity
• Social Participation

These and other amenities help to maximize the independence and quality of life of older adults, while also enhancing the economic, civic and social vitality of the community. 
 
Aging Together considers that the soundest way to determine gaps for successful liveable communities is to define them locally, by those who live and work there. Several strategies have been implemented so each of the region’s five counties determines need within themselves, and also works collectively as a region to stopgap redundancy and share ideas:

1. County Teams – under the auspices of Aging Together, each county has a team of volunteers who are closely aligned with the Aging Together strategic plan. The teams, co-facilitated by a local team leader and Aging Together's County Resource Specialist determine and articulate gaps in their communities. This enables Aging Together teams to both develop current programs and gather resources for immediate need, and to scaffold future plans for liveable communities (for more information on Aging Together’s County Teams, Click Here).
2. Culpeper Liveable Aging Communities (CLAC) – CLAC was organized in conjunction with partners as a task force dedicated specifically to help aging citizens remain in place within their current communities. They focus on Liveable Community models to help with present-day need. CLAC consists of volunteers from different sectors in Culpeper who meet regularly and foster services and programs. ​
3. Community Needs Assessments – in 2019 through funding from PATH Foundation, Aging Together managed a community needs assessment, termed “Community Conversations” where over 500 residents of our five counties voluntarily filled out questionnaires designed to obtain data and gather information about current issues facing older adults at very local levels. Through separate demographic research and surveys, PATH directed a parallel project designed to produce a Strategic Action Plan for Senior Services which estimated and projected statistics relevant to older adults through the year 2030. The combined projects included hundreds of volunteers who were community professionals, and residents, some of whom then served on advisory groups that created multiple reports for aligning the region towards the goal of livable communities.
4. The Senior Services Collaborative (SSC) – was formed as the outcome of the combined community needs assessments. The SSC prioritized seven goals aimed at alleviating challenges and defining a clear path to structured Liveable Communities that advocate to the growing numbers of residents over the age of 65 throughout the entire region. The challenges put forth include:
   • Improve Community Collaboration for Strengthening Senior Services
   • Improve Community Health Services for Older Adults
   • Improve Housing and Housing Supports for Older Adults
   • Improve Social and Safety Net Services for Older Adults
   • Improve Supports for Caregivers of Older Adults
   • Support Age-Friendly Community Design
   • Engage Older Adults as Leaders and Contributors

Aging Together’s objective as an agency now is to respond to the issues identified from the Community Needs Assessments and to embrace the challenges put forth from the SCC so that the concept of “Liveable” communities in our area can be explored with step-by-step options for implementation.

“Aging Together recognizes that now, more than ever, we must focus on inclusion of all population sectors in order to fully embrace authentic and diverse Liveable Community models. Though we have slowed the process during the pandemic period,
we encourage those who are interested in participating to please contact us.”  

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Liveable Communities that currently exist in the Aging Together Region

"Senior Villages" are one model for an aging in place Liveable Community. A senior village is a membership organization that provides services to residents who prefer to live independently at home for as long as possible, rather than relocate to an assisted living or other similar facility. Through both volunteers and paid staff, a senior village coordinates access to no-cost and affordable services, including transportation, health and wellness programs, home repairs and maintenance, social and educational activities, and other day-to-day needs, enabling individuals to remain connected to their community throughout the aging process. In our region, there are two such models, Lake of the Woods Living Independently in our Community (LOWLINC) in Orange County, and Rapp at Home in Rappahannock County.  

Click on LOWLINC logo above to go to their website.

​Lake of the Woods (LOW) is a large residential Community  of single-family homes  located in Locust Grove, Orange County. In 2014 a panel of residents from LOW began discussion on how residents of their specific community could remain at home as they aged. They explored services, deployed both a needs assessment survey and a questionnaire to their community members, and with this collected information launched LOWLINC (Lake of the Woods Living Independently in the Community) in 2016. Membership in LOWLINC is fee-based which allows for a multitude of services and benefits including referrals, transportation to doctor appointments, friendly visitor and call check-ins, basic home maintenance, and others dedicated to enabling seniors who reside at Lake of the Woods to continue living fully and independently in their homes.

Click on Rapp at Home logo above
 to go to their website.

Rapp at Home is a rural senior village located in Rappahannock County. Because most senior villages currently are based in more urban locations, Rapp at Home represents a pioneer model. Rapp at Home is not a residential community, but a virtual village non-profit organization in which seniors provide support to one another, allowing them to live independently in their homes and community. 

Members volunteer to help one another keep active and socially engaged, assist with things like in-home repairs and lawn maintenance, provide technical assistance and provide rides to one another for things like doctor appointments and social events, among other services. The organization also installs in-home medical alert devices for its members. ​There is a small paid staff and a board of directors but most of the functions depend on volunteer help.