Hope. Magic. Utopia.
Those words mean different things to different people, perhaps looking towards a better future, receiving something unexpected and unusual, somewhere safe and happy.
Each also has a different expectation of possibility, but Tuesday the ground was broken for a place where maybe, just maybe, and element of each will be found and create a home and community for those most in need of such.
Village of Hope has been in the works for several years now, a project of Mature Resources Inc. and the Clearfield County Area Agency on Aging Inc.
According to provided information and the Village of Hope Web site, “The Village of Hope is an alternative to institutional lock-down environments, providing a far more open, fulfilling and healthy life at a lower cost.
“The village will be a purposeful living community where neighbors help neighbors who are living with cognitive change. The co-living model, where people with special needs live together with the general public of all ages and capabilities, is an apt model for today and like all great societies of the past, maintains a balanced resiliency, humanity of diversity able to change with the times.”
Initially the location was to have been at the former Girard-Goshen Elementary School; however, the location of a solar farm surrounding the site, while providing a source of clean energy, would have detracted from the aesthetics of the site, and so a new site was chosen along U.S. Route 322 near Wallaceton, which has the needed infrastructure as well as room to grow.
Kathy Gillespie, chief executive officer of CCAAA, said they want to give families and individuals a choice other than institutional care for family members with developmental disabilities or other special needs, whether it be a parent with Alzheimer’s or dementia, an adult child in need of care and support, grandparents who have stepped in to raise their grandchildren and need help and support for that phase of life, and the list can go on and on.
“People in institutions are lonely,” Gillespie noted, pointing to recent issues during the pandemic where isolation, even in a living situation with a hundred other people, had a detrimental effect on people.
A living space such as Village of Hope will allow people to live more independently while also having neighbors on hand to provide help and support as needed and also be able to give back in whatever form they are able, with everyone using their strengths to help everyone else.
Eventually the site will have 50 single-level dwellings of both duplex and single-family homes, and the foundation for the first home has been completed, Gillespie said, with a timeline of the first 10 homes completed by this autumn, and 38 more by autumn of 2023.
She said they are also looking to purchase additional acreage soon for more housing and a village hall where community members can visit, receive meals if they desire, participate in activities, including a teaching kitchen and multi-media room and receive other services.
U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson spoke about how exciting the project is, noting the number of personal care homes that have closed recently and the needs of families and an aging population.
Gillespie said that CCAAA has been trying to step in and help with some of those situations, recently purchasing the Dimeling Hotel, which was converted to senior housing several years ago, so that the 30 residents there would not lose their homes.
Two shared homes were also opened and six former residents of Marion Manor now live there and are finding they are able to be more independent than they have been in a while and they are loving it.
And the magic? Well, that comes in with the wider scope of the village. Matt Kaplan, Ph.D. professor of intergenerational programs and aging at Penn State University, noted that M.A.G.I.C stands for Multi-Ability, Multi-Generational Inclusive Community, a place where people come together to help and care for each other.
Kaplan noted that the groundbreaking is a pre-conference event for the Pennsylvania Intergenerational Conference taking place at Penn State this week.
The objectives of the conference include: “informing and educating professionals about innovative and evidence-informed intergenerational program models taking root in Pennsylvania and beyond; highlighting the benefits of intergenerational programs and practices for promoting health and wellness, supporting families, and enriching community quality of life; providing information, training and support for those interested in joining, replicating, and/or developing new intergenerational initiatives; and establishing an infrastructure for supporting and engaging intergenerational work in PA. This includes laying down the foundations for the ‘Pennsylvania Intergenerational Network’.”
For more information on Village of Hope visit www.ourvillageofhope.com. For more information on the Pennsylvania Intergenerational Conference visit https://aese.psu.edu/outreach, and click on Intergenerational Program and then Pennsylvania Intergenerational Network on the right of your screen.