July 27, 2023

5TH ANNUAL STATEWIDE CONFERENCE RE-CAP

From the Executive Director

Earlier this month, 110 village leaders and stakeholders joined the Village Movement California staff and board in Oakland at our annual conference, Fulfilling Our Potential. The event was a roaring success.

We reveled in the company of those we’d only ever met on Zoom. We learned new content from leaders and researchers in the aging field. We listened deeply to each other during conversations about care and caregiving, and advocacy and partnership. We enjoyed  a yummy lunch and outrageously delicious cupcakes. We left feeling energized knowing we are all part of something very important that is bigger than ourselves and our individual villages.

It is my hope and intention that together we focus the energy and connections we built at the conference to fulfill the potential of our movement as we revolutionize the experience of aging in California.

The presentations and conversations about the needs of middle-income Californians, care and caregiving, and advocacy were intended to equip us to better understand, and  articulate, how villages support and change lives. It is time for us to stake a claim within the larger aging services continuum so that our movement is valued as a solution to the challenges facing California and its older people.

A major highlight was the release of our impact report, It Takes a Village to Age Well: Expanding the Village Model of Care for California’s Older Adult.The report presents the unique strengths and successes of the village movement, and links them to the five bold goals of the California Master Plan for Aging. The report will guide our advocacy over the coming year.

Lastly, take a minute to see the conference photo album on Facebook.  There are some great shots of everyone and we keep uploading new ones!

Thank you for your commitment to the village movement,
Charlotte Dickson, Executive Director

Conference Recap 

Several important statewide leaders in aging and disability in California spoke to conference participants.

Kim McCoy Wade, Governor Newsom’s Senior Advisor for Aging, Disability and Alzheimer’s, and Susan DeMarois, the Director of the California Department of Aging, congratulated Village Movement California and encouraged us to take advantage of the new partners and opportunities offered by the Master Plan for Aging.

• Video-recording of Kim McCoy Wade’s remarks
• Video-recording of Susan DeMarois’ remarks

Joe Garbanzos, President of AARP California, offered powerful words of support for the village model and our progress in our state saying that AARP California values Livable Communities & that villages are Livable Communities in action providing options so Californians may remain independent in older age.” Barbara Sullivan, Executive Director of Village to Village Network, discussed opportunities for villages on a national and federal level.

Morning Keynote: Villages as Communities of Care 

This intimate conversation covered a definition of care that includes the ways village members, volunteers, and leaders care for one another. It offered a definition of care that goes beyond traditional concepts of caregiving.

Watch the video-recording of Donna Benton, PhD, Director of USC Family Caregiver Resource Center and Kate Hoepke, Executive Director of San Francisco Village and Chair of Village Movement California, moderated by Charlotte Dickson, Village Movement California’s Executive Director.

World Café 

The World Café is a format for exploring important questions and building connections between people who may not have known each other before. The World Café is a way of bringing the collective wisdom of all of us into consciousness so that we can document our progress, and feed that into new strategies and solutions. Groups of eight people discussed these questions:

We just listened to a conversation about villages and care 

• What resonated with you?
• What practices would be useful to create in your village?

The long-term sustainability of villages depends on their being seen as a valuable and reliable part of the ecosystem that supports older adults. Sustainability is achieved from funding, members, partners, volunteers, and relevant programming. 

• What are the vital connections and partnerships your village has formed that benefit both the village and the larger community?
• What other partners are you considering?

How have you felt cared for by your village and how have you provided care for others? 

Peggy Sebera, member of the Village Network of Petaluma and international facilitator, led the Café. She has collected thoughts from the participants and shared them with Village Movement California. We will disseminate a summary this summer.

Strategic Briefing: California’s Missing Middle Income Older Adults 

Our villages often struggle to feel relevant in conversations with the publicly funded aging services system. This webinar reveals the significant challenge of caring for moderate- and middle-income older adults. The SCAN Foundation, West Health, and the California Department of Aging are looking for solutions. Villages offer a potent one.

Watch the video-recording of the presentation by Kristen Hyashi, PhD, NORC University of Chicago.

The Benefits of Advocacy 

Two village Executive Directors, Erick Larson of Village Sonoma Valley, and Katie Brandon of Pasadena Village, shared their advocacy stories. Three strong story lines were:

• Their newness to advocacy

• The support offered by Village Movement California
• The benefits of making relationships with an Area Agency on Aging, and state and national lawmakers

Mariya Kalina, the Executive Director of the CA Collaborative for Long Term Services and Supports, shared the State context and invited villages to join in. Watch the video-recording of the session.

The State of the Village Movement 

Charlotte Dickson affirmed that the state of the movement is strong. She went through the impact report, It Takes a Village to Age Well, to highlight key sections and text. She made a call to action:

• Join Village Movement California’s advocacy campaign which will launch this summer. Stay tuned to emails and eblasts for more information.
• Attend statewide workshops.

• Read the monthly newsletters and current events eblasts and respond.
• Invite Village Movement CA staff to at least one Board meeting during the year and designate a liaison.

Watch the video-recording of the session.

Volunteer Award 

Carol Haig was honored for her service to Village Movement California. Carol is the newsletter and Current Events Monthly editor. She wrote the Village Incubator’s New Village Curriculum and created a process for leadership involvement and evaluation. You can learn more about Carol here.

What’s Next? 

Village Movement California staff are busy analyzing the conference evaluations and writing grants. They are finalizing the plan for our advocacy campaign. The first two steps of the campaign for this summer are:

• Meet with your Area Agency on Aging (AAA)
• Invite your state legislators to attend a village event or a meeting with leaders during the legislator’s break: July 15 – August 15 or November 15 to the end of the year.

To help you, we are hosting a few workshops. Here is the first in this series:

Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) 101
Thursday, August 10, 2023 10:30–11:30AM
ZOOM REGISTRATION

Joe Cobery, Executive Director of Passages Area Agency on Aging, will lead this workshop. Charlotte and Joe are working together to pave the way for local meetings between villages and their AAA leadership.

THANKS TO OUR CONFERENCE SPONSORS 

Partner:

Champion:

Supporter: