You’ve probably heard the old saying that it takes a village to raise a child. But maybe we never stop needing the village. As we age, the people and places around us can become an important part of staying independent. They create a community in which people can continue to participate, contribute, connect, and live safely.
That matters. Around one in four older people experience social isolation. The Global Coalition on Aging highlights communities as an important part of healthy aging. In addition to accessibility in public spaces, like elevators, ramps, and seating, cultural programming, flexible retirement, and caregiver support make for age-friendly environments. Perhaps the most important aspect of any community is the people in it – and the support they can offer.
The people in your village
A support network doesn't have to consist entirely of family members or healthcare professionals. Look around your neighborhood and you may discover resources already woven into everyday life.
- Pick up groceries or prescriptions when they're already running errands.
- Check in during extreme heat, storms, or after an illness.
- Help with small tasks, from bringing in a package to changing a difficult-to-reach light bulb.
- Local shops and businesses can:
- Offer delivery, accessible shopping, or assistance carrying purchases.
- Provide a familiar place for regular social interaction.
- Notice when a regular customer hasn't visited and, if appropriate, check in or contact someone in their support network.
- Community groups can:
- Offer exercise, arts, education, meals, or social programs.
- Provide transportation or volunteer help.
- Create opportunities for older adults to contribute their own knowledge, skills, and time.
These connections support more than practical needs. They provide social activities, community groups, volunteering, and befriending programs that can improve mental health, life satisfaction, and quality of life in older adulthood.
Give a little, get a little
Around the world, communities have developed more organized ways of helping one another.
- Mutual aid is based on people sharing resources and support to meet community needs. A neighborhood group might coordinate rides, meals, errands, pet care, or check-ins, with members helping when they can and receiving help when they need it.
Want to create one? Start small. Ask a handful of neighbors what they could occasionally offer and what they might need. Create a simple contact list or group chat, set up expectations and privacy boundaries, and identify a coordinator who can connect requests with volunteers.
- Time banking takes mutual aid one step further. In a time bank, people exchange skills using time rather than money. The basic principle is simple: one hour spent helping someone earns one hour of help from someone else. Someone might spend an hour helping a neighbor organize photographs and later use that credit to get an hour of gardening help.
To start a local time bank, gather interested neighbors or community organizations, list the skills people are willing to share, create a simple system for recording hours, and choose someone to help coordinate exchanges. The important part is that everyone has something valuable to contribute.
Building a village
Natural support networks often grow from relationships that already exist. Strengthening them can be surprisingly simple:
- Notice who's already around. Think beyond relatives. Who do you regularly see at the library, faith community, café, exercise class, club, or neighborhood gathering?
- Become a regular. Familiarity builds relationships. Visiting the same places and activities creates opportunities for people to get to know one another.
- Offer before you ask. Share something manageable. A ride, conversation, garden produce, or a skill are good ways to start.
- Say what would help. People may want to help but do not know how. A specific request such as “Could you bring my mail up when the sidewalk is icy?” is easier to answer than “I might need help sometime.”
- Keep connections active. Don't wait for an emergency. A regular coffee, phone call, walk, or weekly activity helps relationships remain relationships—not just emergency plans.
Neighbors and friends cannot, and shouldn't, be expected to meet every need. Professional caregivers can fill the spaces that informal networks cannot reliably cover. They can provide consistent help with personal care, meals, transportation, household routines, companionship, and other everyday needs while family, friends, and neighbors stay part of the person's life in their roles as spouse, child, sibling, or friend
Your local Home Care Assistance team can help you think about what it would take to make aging at home possible for you or someone you love. Consider asking:
- Where are the gaps? Which daily needs are already being met by family, friends, neighbors, and community resources. Where could professional caregiving provide more consistency?
- How can care support community connection? Ask how a caregiver can help someone continue attending activities, visiting favorite places, maintaining friendships, and participating in the community.
- How can we make this sustainable for everyone? Explore how professional support or respite care can complement family and community help so no single person has to carry the entire responsibility.
Activities to find and build your village offer a good opportunity to think beyond traditional ideas of giving. Some of the most important acts of charity are helping our neighbors and allowing them to help us.
A strong village isn't one where one person does everything. It's one where everyone has a part to play.
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Sources: GCOA; Journal of Aging Research; WHO; Healthline; Timebooking UK; University of Buffalo