BY TOM MULLANEY

E arlier this year, DianeFitzgerald, 61, of LincolnPark, faced a predicament.Her parents, both with seri-

ous health issues, were relocating to benear her from Long Island, New York.

Ms. Fitzgerald found retirement homefees too high, so she searched for anoth-er option.

She found her answer in Lincoln ParkVillage, a nonprofit membership com-munity made up of people over 50 wholive in their own homes, forming a virtu-al community. Essentially, it’s neighborshelping neighbors age in place.

For annual membership of $780, theparents now have “an extra set of eyes,ears and arms who are helping us dothe heavy lifting,” Ms. Fitzgerald says.

The village located mobility equip-ment for her mother, found local doctorsamong its health partners and intro-duced her parents to members living inthe same apartment building. Ms.Fitzgerald is happy they have “an instantcommunity.”

The movement began in 2002 withBoston’s Beacon Hill Village. Its successsparked the opening of 145 villages, with100 more in development across 39states and the District of Columbia.

In 2007, three Lincoln Park couplesgathered, intent on bringing a village toChicago. Michael Spock, scholar-in-residence at the Chicago HistoryMuseum, and his wife, Judy, was one ofthem. “We all had a sort of ’60s mentali-ty that, if we could think of something,we could make it happen,” Mr. Spock,81, says.

Two years of planning, plus $225,000in donations, including a $60,000 grantfrom the Chicago-based M.R. BauerFoundation, enabled the Lincoln ParkVillage to open in June 2009 with 70founding members and DianneCampbell, 65, founding president of theChicago Children’s Museum, as execu-tive director.

Lincoln Park Village is Chicago’s oldestand among the nation’s five largest, at 386members. Its success inspired two othersin the Chicago area, in suburban Evanstonand in the Streeterville neighborhood,which have about 300 and 100 members,respectively. Another is slated to start inNovember in Hyde Park with about 75members. Susan Alitto, president of theHyde Park board, says Lincoln Park “hasbeen a source of inspiration to us.”

Here’s how the village concept works:An annual membership fee (in LincolnPark, $540 for a single member, $780 fora couple; subsidies available) entitlesmembers to all village activities andservices. Called-in requests for volun-teer help can include computer assis-tance, rides to doctors, shopping or avetted handyman. One volunteer atLincoln Park Village watered anothermember’s vegetable garden for threeweeks while another looked after amember’s cats while he was away. Apartfrom fees for household repairs, nomoney changes hands.

Villages vary by locality, with somesimply offering rides, meal delivery andmedical care to homebound members.Lincoln Park and North Shore are morefull-service models. All practice a “give

CHICAGOBUSINESS.COM | AUGUST 4, 2014

IT TAKES A VILLAGEA new model of senior living is taking hold across the country, with one in Lincoln Park

at the forefront. Here’s how a loose community of older folks is helping Chicagoans age in place.

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Dianne Campbell is executive director of the Lincoln Park Village and founding president of theChicago Children’s Museum.

and get” philosophy. Those who receivehelp are encouraged to return the favor.Such outreach transforms a sprawling,anonymous city into an urban patch likeMayberry. Villages provide new mem-bers with guidelines of acceptablerequests. Though staff say they try hardto be accommodating, they draw theline at requests for personal care assis-tance like heavy lifting or services bettersuited to a visiting nurse.

Lincoln Park Village members con-tributed 880 hours of volunteer time inMay. Volunteers complement two paidstaff, two part-timers and three collegeinterns who operate out of a second-story office on North Clark Street.

‘LONELINESS BUSTER’

Ms. Campbell calls Lincoln Park Villagea “loneliness buster” that builds commu-nity connections. It offers around 30 vol-unteer-led activities each month, rangingfrom tai chi and fitness classes to mem-oir-writing workshops and a men’s dis-cussion group. Birdwatchers, book

lovers, Scrabble fans and film buffs canfind a group. Streeterville Village has amonthly men’s luncheon called ROMEO(Retired Older Men Eating Out).

Villages also offer a key societal ben-efit besides boosting their members’mood and quality of life. They offset thefinancial burden on strapped cities andoverwhelmed social service agencies.

Betty Dayron, 73, moved to LincolnPark in 1986 and joined the village in2008 because “I realized that I had littlesense of belonging to the neighbor-hood. When I checked a member list in2010, I realized I knew more than 100people I didn’t know before.”

“The members, board and Dianne’sleadership have created one of the mostinnovative and pre-eminent villages inthe country,” says Judy Willett, nationaldirector of Arlington, Virginia-basedVillage to Village Network, an associa-tion that helps communities establishand effectively manage villages.

Lincoln Park Village has staked out a

villagewide leadership role on agingresearch. Ms. Campbell chairs Village toVillage Network’s research committeeand serves on its advisory council.

Ms. Campbell sees Lincoln Park’s com-munity as an aging “test kitchen.” It isassisting Dr. Lee Lindquist, a gerontolo-

gist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital,in developing a tool, “Plan Your LifeSpan.” Dr. Lindquist says it enables sen-iors to have a voice in their care for futurelife events, a variant of “advance direc-tives” for ill patients.

Lincoln Park Village also is working witha tech startup at the University of Chicago,Qualia Health, which conducted a 30-daystudy in June with 20 village members,testing an app that monitors participants’physical, mental and social health andoffers medical advice.

Ms. Campbell has forged sponsoringpartnerships with Rush UniversityMedical Center, Charles Schwab Corp.and others to augment members’ med-ical and financial needs.

MAKING IT WORK

Board members say sustainability is achallenge for the future. Lincoln Park’sdues and special-event fees cover 60percent of its $400,000 budget. The goal,Treasurer Bob Spoerri says, is to reach

500 members with dues and earnedincome covering 70 percent.

Many older adults resist joining, vil-lage members say, out of ignorance ormisconceptions about membershipand mission, believing the villages aresenior-care facilities for the frail andhomebound.

Only 20 percent of Lincoln Park’smembers are over 80; 34 percent areunder 70. Half of North Shore Villagemembers are under 75, while inStreeterville, 85 percent are in their60s and 70s. Members include retiredKraft Foods Inc. executive CharDamron, 66; Sidley Austin LLP partnerand board member Mel Washburn, 69;and former 48th Ward Ald. Mary AnnSmith, 67.

All three villages have stretched theirneighborhood boundaries to attractmore members. North Shore Village isreaching into Winnetka, Skokie andGlenview. Streeterville has branchedinto the Loop, Gold Coast and New EastSide, while Lincoln Park recruits in RiverNorth, Lakeview and Edgewater.

“You can never have too many friendsor too many contacts,” Ms. Damronsays. “The village is an enormousresource pool.”

Beyond networking among neighbors,says member Nancy StevensonGreenberg, 74, Lincoln Park Village is“helping invent a different future forolder adults in America.”

Contact: life@chicagobusiness.com

“WE ALL HAD A SORT OF ’60S MENTALITY THAT, IF WE COULDTHINK OF SOMETHING, WE COULD MAKE IT HAPPEN.” Michael Spock

Lincoln Park Village offers around 30 volunteer-led activities each month.

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Reprinted with permission from Crain's Chicago Business. © 2014 Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved. Further duplication without permission is prohibited. Visit www.chicagobusiness.com. #CB14044

AUGUST 4, 2014