More than 250 Villages now exist in the United States, with another 62 or so in development, according to the Village to Village Network (VtV), the national organization launched in 2010 that links Villages and tracks their growth nationwide.
“Beacon Hill Village, opened in 2002, was the first to create a grassroots support organization enabling seniors to stay in their homes as long as they wished to,” said Steve Roop, President of Beacon Hill Village. “Today, over 3000 community groups around the country dream of creating their own Villages.”
“Village to Village Network Launches Innovative Community
Approach for Aging Boomers,” 2009 press release
“Candace Baldwin, co-director of the Village to Village Network, believes the program needs to be expanded as quickly as possible. ‘When you think about that fact that by 2032, there will be more people over 65 than people under 15, we have no time to lose in getting sustainable Villages in place,’ she says.”
“Village to Village Network Expands with a Grant”
“Most Americans would prefer to stay where they are as they get older. One AARP survey found that 89 percent of Americans would like to live in their current homes as long as possible – and that number rose to 95 percent when people over age 75 were asked the question. Despite all the hype and marketing around the concept of active adult and age-restricted communities, only three percent of 55-plus households had moved to one as recently as 2007, according to a survey by Metlife and the National Association of Homebuilders.”