Living alone in downtown Silver Spring and no longer able to drive because of a disability, Cynthia Goodman was feeling increasingly isolated when her doctor suggested in 2015 that she join a local organization that connects residents who need help with others who are willing to provide it.
So Goodman signed up to become a member of Silver Spring Village, one of 30 such groups in Montgomery County. Often led by volunteers, these grassroots organizations are dedicated to helping residents age in place by creating communities of neighbors helping neighbors and fostering social connections.
Now in her ninth year as a member, Goodman relies on Silver Spring Village volunteers to drive her to doctors’ appointments and village-organized social events, including jewelry swaps and a Socrates discussion group held at a member’s home. Volunteers often help her with light chores that she can’t do herself, such as installing a handheld showerhead in her apartment and adjusting the brakes on her walker.
“You don’t have to feel like you’re so alone and so isolated,” says Goodman, 63, who says she doesn’t have family in the area to help her. “They’ve got a group for every interest, practically, so it’s really a good community. You feel like you know people in your community. You have friends.”
Montgomery County’s villages are among a total of about 80 in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., according to the Washington Area Villages Exchange, and among several hundred nationwide. The groups serve a range of purposes, from Village of Takoma Park’s focus on providing services to lower-income community members to Bradley Hills Village’s mission to build community by sponsoring events and activities in the Bethesda neighborhood.
Some, like Silver Spring Village and Bradley Hills Village, charge an annual membership fee—some as high as several hundred dollars—to provide services delivered by volunteers as well as access to village social events. Villages may be intergenerational or may require members to be a certain age to join. Some villages have paid staff, and many offer an online system where members can request services and volunteers can sign up to help.
Silver Spring Village, which started in 2013 and serves residents of several ZIP codes, holds the distinction of being the largest in the county, with 279 members, according to Executive Director Douglas Gaddis, 59. The nonprofit, which has an annual budget of about $250,000, handles roughly 2,000 service requests annually and offers about 950 social, educational, recreational and cultural events. Annual fees range from $180 to $495, depending on the type of membership.
Barbara Ryan, 71, has been a volunteer with Silver Spring Village since 2017, signing up a couple of times a week to drive members where they need to go. “I get to meet really interesting people and, you know, folks are really appreciative of getting the help,” says Ryan, who will also call members for a check-in chat.
According to those involved in the village movement locally and nationally, the county may be unique in having a village coordinator on staff. That job at the Department of Health and Human Services is held by Pazit Aviv, 51, who says she serves as a “jack-of-all-trades” by providing guidance and technical assistance for existing villages and those starting to organize.
“My job is primarily to devote my time to figuring out ways that we can make this movement successful and thriving,” Aviv says. “What we’ve learned collectively with the village leaders is that we need a comprehensive approach to just informing the public, so outreach and education is an ongoing goal.”
Aviv notes that a strong community connection is the foundation of a successful village. “Very often, villages started with just that goal of reweaving those local social connections, reminding people what we are all about—we’re social animals, we need connections, we need communities—and building those foundations is not just for the purpose of serving people when they need a ride,” Aviv says.
Bradley Hills Village, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary in November, started with the idea of providing services for the neighborhood’s older residents, but has evolved into an intergenerational organization focused on building community through events and activities, according to President Caryn McTighe Musil. Annual fees run from $75 for associate members who want to participate in activities but don’t need services to $200 for a full household membership.
“We do reach out to help each other, but [residents] really wanted community. They really wanted to know people and have a greater sense that I live in a neighborhood where I actually know the person next to me,” says McTighe Musil, 79, who became involved with the village by attending its book club meetings. “So, in addition to being of service to people as they age, it is actually a very important vehicle for building a stronger sense of community that’s more cohesive and caring.”
Village of Takoma Park, which started in 2014, serves about 250 members who pay an annual $25 fee to receive services. Membership is not required to attend social events; services are more of the focus. “For us, we felt like it was really the lowincome seniors in Takoma Park that were becoming really isolated,” says volunteer coordinator Sandy Egan, 72.
Takoma Park resident John Wilkinson, 63, who lives in an apartment complex, was one of the early members, joining in 2014. Wilkinson, who is blind, says he relies on village volunteers to take him to doctors’ appointments and other locations, praising them for being punctual and reliable. According to village officials, volunteers have provided him with rides 135 times, most of them round trips, since he joined the village.
It’s a decision Wilkinson has never regretted.
“I’m really, really glad I did,” he says. “It’s been a lifesaver.”
This story appears in the May/June edition of Bethesda Magazine.
