Grassroots Initiative to Empower Older Americans to Remain in Their Own Homes as They Age Gets $250,000 Boost 

NCB Capital Impact Receives Grant from the MetLife Foundation to Launch the Village-to-Village Network
with Beacon Hill Village

Millions of older Americans now have more choice and opportunity for remaining in their homes and connected to their communities as they age after the MetLife Foundation provided a $250,000 grant to NCB Capital Impact, with its partner Beacon Hill Village, to launch the Village to Village Network. At a time when the 50-plus population is rapidly swelling and retirement savings losses are estimated to exceed $2 trillion, “Villages” are sprouting up in communities across the country.

In 2001, a group of neighbors in downtown Boston created this grassroots, consumer-driven model to reject what they viewed as an antiquated, traditional social service model.  Alternatively, they created a new system where older people posses the power and means to design their own futures and keep control of their own lives.  Now, this new approach is sweeping the country with 48 Villages operational in large metropolitan areas, rural towns, and suburban settings alike.  

Villages offer people 50 years and older an affordable option for staying in their own homes and remaining active, independent and civically connected to their communities. The Village to Village (VtV) Network will create a national peer to peer network to help communities establish and manage their own Villages. These organizations are membership driven, self-governing non-profits run by small staffs and volunteers who coordinate affordable services including transportation, in-home medical care, home repairs and other day-to-day needs for individuals who wish to stay in their home and community as they age.

The MetLife grant will be used to launch a VtV Network nationally so these Villages can connect to each other and help new Villages get started. Specifically, the funds will go towards:

• Creating a national VtV Network online portal for Villages to exchange knowledge and access tools and resources
• Providing access experts to help communities adopt the Village model, including low-income communities
• Convening a national conference to promote growth of the Village model
• Developing further tools that support greater impact of Villages, including a customized Village level website to manage and sustain Village activities
• Researching, collecting data, and analyzing Villages and their current operations for benchmarking and improvement

"Our expanded focus on aging issues, including civic engagement for older Americans, creation of community aging plans that focus on livable communities and keeping older adults active to facilitate wellness and prevention, are directly connected to the mission and vision of the Village model," noted Dennis White, Director of MetLife Social Investments and President of MetLife Foundation. “This program will fit well in our Aging and Community Programs as it will provide real world, practical application of an aging in community model that can be customized for any community, including those that are underserved.”

The economic downturn has catastrophic implications for older Americans. The Urban Institute found that retirement savings losses are currently estimated at $2 trillion. This combined with limited-earnings potential is causing more to consider using what’s left of their declining home value to cover retirement income needs, including long-term health care.
 
“Our hope is that older Americans can choose where they live and make the most of whatever stage of life they are in,” said Terry Simonette, President and CEO of NCB Capital Impact. “The passion, innovation and collaboration of Village organizers, our partner Beacon Hill Village, and the MetLife Foundation make us believe it will happen.”

"The MetLife Foundation's extraordinary vote of confidence in the Village to Village Network could not come at a more auspicious moment,” commented Stephen Roop, Beacon Hill Village President. “It will help make the Network an indispensable support to existing capitalized Villages and other communities in development." 

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About NCB Capital Impact
NCB Capital Impact helps people and communities reach their highest potential at every stage of life. As a national, non-profit community development organization, NCB Capital Impact provides financial services and technical assistance to help make high-quality health care, housing, and education more accessible and attainable, and eldercare more dignified and respectful. NCB Capital Impact will use its depth of experience, cooperative approach, and diverse network of alliances and generate critical investments that create a high quality of life for low income people and communities. To learn more, visit www.ncbcapitalimpact.org.  

About MetLife
MetLife is a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), a leading provider of insurance, employee benefits and financial services with operations throughout the United States and the Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific regions. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife, Inc. reaches more than 70 million customers around the world and MetLife is the largest life insurer in the United States (based on life insurance in-force). The MetLife companies offer life insurance, annuities, auto and home insurance, retail banking and other financial services to individuals, as well as group insurance and retirement & savings products and services to corporations and other institutions. For more information, visit www.metlife.com .

About Beacon Hill Village
Beacon Hill Village is a membership organization in the heart of Boston.  Created by a group of long-time Beacon Hill residents as an alternative to moving from their homes to retirement or assisted living communities, it was founded in 2001.Beacon Hill Village enables a growing and diverse group of Boston residents to stay in their neighborhoods as they age, by organizing and delivering programs and services that allow them to lead safe, healthy productive lives in their own homes.  For more information, visit: www.beaconhillvillage.org.

About the Village to Village Network
The Village to Village Network (VtV) is being created by Villages for Villages.  The VtV Network helps communities establish and manage their own “Villages.” The Network is sponsored through a joint partnership between Beacon Hill Village and NCB Capital Impact and was developed in response to requests from Villages nationwide. For more information, visit www.vtvnetwork.org.