Denise Snyder ’79 had an eye-opening initiation to the experiences of many older adults when she became the power of attorney for her father, helping to care for him, and eventually getting him into assisted living and then a nursing home.
“Taking care of Dad was my first introduction to how badly our society dealt with older adults. The ways that we devalue them, there’s no recognition of their wisdom and their creativity,” Snyder said. “Our attitude is just to get them out of sight and out of mind… We pay the people who care for older adults so little.”
Snyder had left her 25-year career leading the D.C. Rape Crisis Center when she began helping take care of her dad’s affairs. Shortly thereafter, she also became a primary caretaker for her mother-in-law, who had limited mobility. Snyder looked around to find some activities she could participate in, and discovered the Waterfront Village in D.C. – one of approximately 350 “Village” organizations in the country.
Villages are grassroots groups of neighbors that help one another with household tasks and organize social and cultural events. The movement started in Boston in 2002 with the goal of helping older adults age in place.
“It was just a great opportunity for [my mother-in-law] to socialize with other, older adults,” Snyder said. “Truly, Villages are the epitome of grassroots organizations. They are born of the people who use the services.”
After getting her mother-in-law tapped into her local chapter, Snyder started volunteering at one where she lives in Hyattsville, then joined their board of directors, which she serves on to this day. Two years ago, she also accepted the position of executive director at the Foggy Bottom West End Village, one of 13 Village groups in the District.
“It’s sort of my perfect job, in that it’s about serving people, i.e. older adults, who our society devalues, and it’s done on an absolutely grassroots basis. It’s a wonderful concept,” she said.
Most Villages have only one or a few staff members, who are assisted by a cadre of volunteers – many of whom are also participants in the services and activities. Some are entirely volunteer-run. Snyder said that sometimes the smallest of services “can really make a big difference,” like helping someone with technology, changing a lightbulb, or giving a ride to a doctor’s appointment.
Perhaps even more important, though, are the relationships built among neighbors.
“Social isolation is one of the most dangerous things for anybody, but especially for older adults,” Snyder said. “When you’re younger and you’re working, you kind of have a social network in place, vis-à-vis your colleagues.”
According to the Pew Research Center, older adults (not including those in a facility) are more likely to live alone in the U.S. than anywhere else in the world. For those living alone, or just with a spouse or one family member, Villages can contribute so much to their quality of life. Snyder said one Foggy Bottom participant described it as “social insurance.”
The pandemic, of course, forced most Villages to take their programming to the virtual sphere, and limit and redesign the services they were able to offer. Now, Snyder said, members are “raring to go” back to in-person events – next month, they have an ice cream social and a happy hour gathering to look forward to.
What Snyder hears from her villagers “over and over again is, ‘I can’t walk down the street anymore in my neighborhood without seeing someone I know, and what a pleasure it is!”