The Washington Area Villages Exchange (WAVE) is a forum through which nonprofit villages in the Washington D.C metropolitan area share experience and ideas. It works with senior serving and inter-generational organizations and agencies, and encourages the growth and improvement of the village movement within the Washington area.

WAVE has multiple meetings each year hosted by member organizations on a rotating basis in the three jurisdictions of DC, Maryland, and Virginia. The meetings include speakers covering topics of interest to the member organizations with time for questions. After the main presentation, specific time is provided for a couple of concurrent discussion groups focusing on areas of interest to member villages.

Contact us at:

Washington Area Villages Exchange

P.O. Box 7464

Alexandria, VA  22307-0464

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Montgomery County Village Coordinator
Monthly Update for June 1, 2015

​​Hello all,

Please find June's updates below:

1. County Council and County Executive grants and County budget decisions
2. World Elder Abuse Day
3. Updated website
4. Bethesda Chevy Chase quarterly meeting
5. Faith communities survey
6. Livable Communities report
7. AARP livability index
8. Vacation

1. County Council and County Executive grants  and budget decisions

For those of you who are interested in such matters (and all of you should be!) the next FY budget for the County has been approved. You can read about it here: http://montgomerycomd.blogspot.com/2015/05/county-council-adopts-508-billion-total.html 

In relation to villages, for FY 16, County Council has provided a grant to The Village of Takoma Park and County Executive has awarded a grant to Silver Spring Village and Olney Home for Life.

In addition to that, County Council has approved a $10,000 fund to support budding village initiatives in diverse communities. This fund was advocated for by the Commission on Aging and we thank them deeply for their support. The details on how to access this fund are forthcoming. It will be available starting July 1st, 2015.

2. World Elder Abuse Day  June 10

June 10th is Elder Abuse day. Please see flyer and inform your membership about this event which will take place at Holiday Park Senior Center. This is a very important subject that deserves your attention as you are connecting with many older adults in your community. The County has recently developed more resources around financial exploitation which you may want to know about.

3. Updated website

I have added all the Montgomery County Village Gathering photos, handouts and PowerPoint presentations. Please check it out, and let me know what you think. http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/HHS-Program/ADS/Villages/Villagegathering2015.html

4. Bethesda Chevy Chase villages quarterly meeting

The next BCC villages meeting will be help next Monday, June 8th 9:30-11:00am at the BCC Regional Service Center, room A. All BCC active and emerging villages are welcome to join. 

5. Faith communities survey

I have connected with Kasey Kaseman, who is the County's Interfaith Liaison, in an effort to reach out to the County's faith communities. Kasey has been very supportive and together with his interfaith workgroup called "Neighbors in Need Work Group" we have developed a short survey which will be sent out to faith leaders in the County. The goal of the survey is to have a deeper appreciation of what faith communities think about their aging members, what programs and services they already offer and what else they would like to do. If you are involved in a faith community, please feel free to share this Survey Monkey link with the person who can represent your congregation on this issue:https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5SMD8Q5
 
6. Livable Communities report
n4a, which is the national organizations that represents the Area Agencies on Aging, has recently published a wonderful report on what communities around the nation are doing to improve their livability. The author of this report, Stephanie Firestone is a Montgomery County resident and also attended the village gathering event last month. This report is popular online, they already have 80,000 hits. Click on it yourself!http://www.n4a.org/files/n4aMakingYourCommunityLivable1.pdf
 
7. AARP livability index 
Another interesting national resource has come out of the AAPR Public Policy Institute. This online tool takes into account many factors that contribute to a community's "score" of livability. What is your community's' score? My take on this tool is that there are several variables that cannot be incorporated into the score and yet do impact the livability of a specific location. I welcome your thoughts on this.http://livabilityindex.aarp.org/?cmp=LVABLIDX_MAR25_015 

8. Vacation

I will be away 6.12-7.3. Please make sure to connect with me before 6.12 if you need anything that is time sensitive. Otherwise. I will get back to you in July!

 

My best wishes to all of you,

Pazit Aviv
Village Coordinator
Aging and Disability Services
Montgomery County Health and Human Services
401 Hungerford Dr. 4th floor
Rockville MD 20850
phone: 240-777-1231
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Upcoming Events

13 Jun
Low Vision Rehabilitation Open House
06/13 11:30 am - 2:00 pm
Learn more about Low Vision Rehabilitation services to help maintain independence and improve quality of life!

The Prevention of Blindness Society of Metropolitan Washington (POB) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to the improvement and preservation of sight by providing services, education, advocacy and innovation. One main program POB offers in the DC Metropolitan area is their Low Vision Learning Centers.

With locations in Bethesda, DC, and Alexandria, POB’s Low Vision Learning Centers offer personalized rehabilitation programming for persons with significant vision loss. Optometrists, who specialize in low vision, work with their patient one-on-one to create a plan to help achieve the activities of daily living they still want to be able to complete, even with vision loss. In addition, there is an opportunity to try and receive
training with different low vision aids and devices.

RSVP: Sean Curry,
15 Jun
Montgomery County’s Care for the Caregiver Event, A Day Devoted to Caregiving
06/15 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
This FREE event will INSPIRE, EDUCATE, MOTIVATE

We have designed this day especially for unpaid family/friend caregivers. By attending you will increase awareness of caregiver’s supports, health and wellness programs and lifelong engagement available in Montgomery County. In addition, the Listening Session will allow caregivers opportunity to share their needs with stakeholders.

Hosted by Montgomery County’s Health and Human Services Caregiver Support Program.

Attend and learn how to maintain well-being through support, community connections and education programs.

Event highlights include:
• Interactive sessions designed for family/friend unpaid caregivers. Attend and learn how to maintain well-being
through support, community connections and education programs.
• Stimulating information presentations that welcome caregiver questions.
• Unique caregiver conversations with the County’s African, Latino and Asian American health programs.
• Networking and support for LGBTQIA+ care partners.
• Information Resource Fair featuring (free or low cost) supports available for unpaid caregivers.
• Listening Session inviting unpaid caregivers to share their needs associated with caring for a loved-on at home.

Register online
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