Care Circle Community (could be anywhere)

~~ NOTE: Due to the low response and other personal factors, this vision is unlikely to come to fruition in my lifetime, but I’m always happy to “meet” others who have a similar vision. ~~ Are you an older person concerned about aging? Note: Here I am referencing people on the last lap of life. Sometimes we are referred to as “elders.” Any children have left the nest and have lives of their own. Your primary concern is living out you last decade or two or three in the healthiest and happiest ways possible. a. Do you want to do whatever you can to avoid ending up in a “facility” (aka warehouse) for the elderly? b. Are you health conscious and strive to live healthfully? c. Are you service oriented? d. Are you willing to help others in exchange for help for yourself? If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may want to explore joining me and/or others like you to create a mutual support community. If we can get this working well, it could be a model for others – an alternative to assisted living and nursing homes – for those with similar healthful lifestyles and a service orientation. Not all intentional communities are residential! This community could be residential, or just people living in the same area. Care Circles are intentional communities of people, typically elders (though not exclusively so) living in close proximity who commit to get to know each other and help each other. Think of them as communities without the complexities of running and maintaining residential communities (e.g. co-housing), but with the benefits of a sense of belonging and mutual support. As part of this “care circle,” we will get to know each other, our interests, and preferences . . . and . . . do things like provide transportation to others for medical appointments, help with ensuring our members get groceries, aide with technologies of various types, serve as patient advocates, help arrange for nursing in-home services and hospice, provide respite companion care, share information and resources, and/or other things that support our members. I like to think of it as a replacement for assisted living – where we get the benefits of assisted living, but in our own homes. If there are enough participants we may be able to arrange with a nursing agency special pricing, and/or shared hours (that is, if the agency requires a 4 hour minimum and two community members live nearby, those hours could be split.) Right now, I envision “pods” of 5-10 people who will get to know each other in particular, whether they live together or live close to each other. But this whole model is a work in progress, so it will evolve over time as warranted. Recently I learned about the CIRCLE model in England – a model that has been around for over a decade. Wow. The impetus is the same, but the vision is a bit different: much larger and less selective of participants. Success has been mixed. I still think “pods” (small circles) is likely more viable, though replenishing them could be challenging — though perhaps a network of pods could address shifts as participants move away or disengage (in whatever form that takes). Some links that may be of interest: ___ https://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/sep/04/circle-model-adult-social-care ___ https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/apr/24/london-elderly-scheme-closure-care-gap-crisis ___ https://www.health.org.uk/sites/default/files/upload/publications/2021/ARadicalNewVisionForSocialCare_WEB.pdf ___ https://finalexitnetwork.org/ If you are interested in my vision, please send an email with at least the following information: 1. Where you live (general locale). 2. Why you are interested. It will help if you acknowledge how you are aligned with a. thru d. above. 3. Your experience with ALFs, NHs, and/or medical facilities. This experience could be due to family or friends or yourself, employment, etc. 4. Anything else you would like to share that gives me a sense of who you are. Thank you for your interest! p.s. I am open to moving to make this happen — if there are enough interested people in a particular locale.