It was really encouraging to see the turnout at the recent Thousand Oaks Council on Aging program about the Village Movement. Too frequently I meet seniors, young and old, who mentally live in “Never Never Land”—where they’ll never get old and they’ll never need help. So when a large group of seniors seem interested in a concept that, at its foundation, suggests we take responsibility and develop a plan for our future, it’s encouraging. No government or social service program will ever be able to meet the needs of the age wave that began just last year. Over the next 20 years our senior population will double and our 85-plus population will grow fourfold. It’s these statistics that motivated Senior Concerns and the Council on Aging to take the lead in exploring the village concept in our community. According to the Village to Village Network, “Villages are self-governing, grassroots, community-based organizations developed with the sole purpose of enabling people to remain in...