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The Sausalito Village organization, along with its parent organization, Marin Village, began providing services in October. This new service organization is dedicated to enabling Sausalitans to remain in their homes as they grow older. Areas in which trained volunteers will play critical roles in making the Sausalito Village concept a vital component of community life will include transportation, home maintenance, companionship and personal assistance. A program of classes, events, and social activities will also be offered to dues-paying members. Per household, dues are $20 per month or $200 per year. Members who can contribute at a higher level can help Sausalito Village to expand. Donations above $200 are tax deductible. Membership applications are available at the Marin Village website. The Sausalito Village Steering Committee is asking friends across Marin to join the Founders Circle by donating from $1000 to $5000. 

Sausalito Village News’ first issue appeared in April. Sausalito Village does not have a separate website. It has pages on the Marin Village website. Go to www.marinvillage.org and click on Sausalito at the left of the home page. This situation reflects the fact that it is affiliated with Marin Village, a county wide organization that provides some services on a countywide basis, as well as a corporate identity, insurance, and various other administrative functions for Sausalito Village.  

This new nonprofit is working closely with Sausalito City staff on transportation issues and arrangements have been made for the use of Sally Shuttle to transport members to programs and events, both within Sausalito and throughout the Bay Area. A senior center is located in the Sausalito City Hall basement. Sausalito has Meals-on-Wheels, but does not provide taxi scrip to senior citizens and disabled persons. Sausalito Village is one of the Community Village organizations which has just launched. Whistlestop serves as its fiscal sponsor. Whistlestop operates a fleet of paratransit vehicles serving Marin as well as a Senior Center in San Rafael. Marin Village serves the whole county; Sausalito Village serves Sausalito.  

More than a hundred Sausalito residents converged on the Sausalito Women’s Club in March 2010 for the first Sausalito Village/Marin Village community meeting. Speaker Loulie Sutro, Marin Village founder and its board president, explained how, while working with the Marin County Grand Jury on a study of services for seniors in Marin County, she learned of Boston’s groundbreaking Beacon Hill Village (Boston, MA) program, also a membership dues-paying organization. Since beginning operations in 2001, Beacon Hill Village has offered its members the types of services they require in order to remain, safely and comfortably, in their homes as they grow older. 

Elsewhere around the county, other communities are interested in what Sausalito is doing. Marin Village has begun accepting applications for membership. All Sausalito residents who join Marin Village automatically become members of Sausalito Village at no additional charge and will become entitled to all benefits provided both by Marin Village and Sausalito Village.  

Marin Village and Sausalito Village will be offering plenty of services and activities for the healthy and active as well as for the not so healthy and the frail. Other villages have found that young and healthy members join because they enjoy the interesting and fun program offerings and the friends they make. They also realize that joining provides access to services and help they may suddenly need at some point in the future. And they realize that by joining now they are helping to provide the support required to sustain an organization whose services they are likely to require.  

The Steering Committee Chair for Sausalito Village is also on the Marin Village Board. Marin Village is the umbrella organization and Sausalito is the first "community village organization" (CVO) to organize. It is hoped that other communities in Marin will follow Sausalito's lead in the coming months. The idea behind this two-level form of organization is that certain services, which are best provided at a countywide level, will be offered directly by Marin Village and that other services, tailored to specific communities, will be delivered by the “CVOs”.  

Persons wishing to volunteer can choose to become a member of Sausalito Village, or they can simply enlist as a volunteer with no further obligation. If you are interested in volunteering or have questions, contact Felicity Kirsch at 888-3919, Stella Shao at 331-1888, Betsy Stroman at (415) 331-1464, or stellashao@aol.com . 

A comparison of some Sausalito and Berkeley demographics may be of interest. Berkeley has three city senior centers, meals-on-wheels, and taxi scrip.  

Sausalito encompasses 1.9 square miles of land and 0.3 square miles of water. The 2000 population was 7330, 12.25% of whom were 65 years of age or more. The median age was 45.4, higher than the national median of 35.3. 69.1% had a bachelor’s degree or higher. Per capita income in 1999 was $81,040, significantly higher than the national average. 3.3% of the population lived below poverty.  

Berkeley encompasses 10 square miles of land area. The 2000 population was 102,743, 10.2% of whom were 65 years of age or more. The median age was 32.5, lower than the national median of 35.3. 64.3% had a bachelor’s degree or higher. Per capita income in 1999 was $30,4777; 10% of the population lived below poverty.  

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NEWS and VIEWS 

Like to see/hear live theatrical and music performances in the afternoon? [Un]Willing and or [un]able to pay and to go outside of Berkeley? What web sites, newspapers, columns and people do you rely on to know about these occasions? Would you like to know more about such events beforehand?! 

California Assemblywoman Mariko Yamada (D-Solano), who chairs the Assembly’s Aging and Long-Term Care Committee, reports that currently there are approximately 7,000 certified geriatricians nationwide -- one for every 2,546 older adults. In California, the numbers are even more alarming with only 534 geriatricians, which equates to approximately one for every 8,000 Californians over the age of 65.  

Throughout December 2010, a bulletin board display of some of Bulbul’s very contemporary cartoons and comic strips that focus on senior citizen’s interests can be viewed at the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst, corner of MLK. AC bus #25 stops at the Center. 

Helen Rippier Wheeler can be reached at pen136@dslextreme.com. No email attachments; use “Senior Power” for subject.