some of in her eighties she developed paranoia and many friend did not recognize this was an early sign of mount dementia and withdrew their company. at that point, she had outlived her relatives except one in eastern canada and she was low income. a few neighbors kept up their friendship with her. and she began to fall while shopping, route began to decline, several neighbors assisted her in her home and got her the help she needed. we obtained power of attorney, delivered medical and grocers supplies, managed her finances. eventually, we hired a wonderful home care professional to look after her. she had visitors but died at 91 in her home. her resources would have been completely exhausted in another

two months. if neighbors had not stepped in to manage the situation, all live would have to have been taken i care of by public programs much earlier. now the village movement has grown to organize and encourage this type of name for network in the face of growing senior population and diminishing resources, it is important villages develop these resources and make this a recognizable and reliable way of helping communities. thank you. >> my name is patricia born. i, on the board of sf next. janet has given a nice example of the way that critical support can be provided to elders who would otherwise be forced to draw on public-sector resources. by the spontaneous action and good neighbors.

next sf is not fully functioning in its formal manner. we have already provided some of the spontaneous, neighborhood support. let me read a note. i would like to express my support for next sf. last year i had an injury that required several injuries. i had no family members in this city, so i got in touch with next sf to help me. they have helped me through a difficult time and i am deeply appreciative. these are hard news stories of old tiny neighborly ness in action, but we cannot rely on such good luck. frail individuals will have to connect to a number of willing individuals, but i am sorry to say, most will not.

what next sf is all about is finding a way to systemize such serendipity. at the heart of our program is a program called neighbor to neighbor. we know what they love to do, are willing to do, and when they are available. we are developing a database that will allow us to find the right match when someone needs help. we use on-line tools to help communicate with them and track them so that a minimum of staff hours are used. we see nothing less than the creation of community 21st century style. we call our neighbors neighbors, not volunteers. we aim to growth in our communities and help out. being connected to those around us is simply and not so simply a

taken for granted part of life. >> thank you. >> good morning. i am dr. amy it there, an emeritus professor and former chair of the department of counseling at san francisco state university. one of my accomplishments during my tenure in the department was creating and implementing a specialization n gentle on the counseling in partnership with the master's program in gerontology more than 15 years ago. i am a friend, if you will, of the next program, as i am a resident of maryland law park. i am here to do a test to the dedication, talent, and the plain hard work of these board members who wish to provide a vehicle for services and

support to their neighbors as they age. they exemplify the notion of each one, help one, which makes me proud again to live in this terrific city. i strongly support the funding of a full-time paid staff person using funds under increasing participation in senior villages. i urge this committee to support the work of next sf by proposing the 2011-2012 budget include legislative option to, "provide a san francisco-based millage organization with general funds from the subsidy to pay for a member of reach and targeted demographics, such as low income and immigrant seniors." perhaps we might see a similar program modeled in next sf in

district 7 sometime in the future. thank you. >> thank you, professor. the next five speakers are from sf village. i want to thank jail for coordinating this. i believe susan will walk us through the history of the sf village. >> thank you. i am a founding member and board member of san francisco village. i am also a senior policy adviser to the village to village network. in full disclosure, i am also co-chair of the long term care coordinating council, although i am not representing us todathem. examples you have heard here today, really some of the heart

of what the village movement is about. committed to building, supported people in their homes and buildings. i appreciate the difference in the report in the differencagine community. the hallmarks of the village movement, self-governing, supporting grass roots that can coordinate services, do not duplicate what is already there. they are holistic. they are a person-centered consumer directives. this model applies across income levels, which is one of its great strengths. people change in their lives. this model allows people to dip in and out of services as they need, depending on what transitions they may be going through or what health status changes there are. so it is a preventive care model in addition to a community-

building and strengthening model. there is no one way to do this. the report was wonderful in terms of putting together so much information that focuses the thinking on what the needs are in the community. thank you for that. looking ahead to the future, there are a lot of issues for villages. it is a new movement. it has a ton of interest. all the villages are going to deal with things like funding, sustainability, how to replicate it affectively, diversity issues, bldg. evidence for it. i just want to say, on behalf of the village to village that mark and san francisco village, we are ready to work through these issues with you and see what is best for the city. >> thank you. next speaker please. >> good morning, supervisors.

i am a founding board member of san francisco village. i became interested in sf from my work as president of the richmond presidio neighbors, a collection of hundreds of neighbors in the richmond district bordering the presidio. i came to understand and appreciate how fiercely our city residents are about preserving their quality of life in their own neighborhood. there are no residents more interested in preserving their neighborhood and our seniors. on my block alone, of the 30 houses, single-family homes, about half are owned by residents in their 70's, 80's who have lived there for more than 40 years. san francisco village is a nonprofit community-based membership organization that empowers the adults to remain in their own homes as they age. it became a private 5013 c in

2007 and after a couple years planning, we successfully launched in 2009 and currently have 130 members with five reduced the members. we are financially sound with a balanced budget projected to 2015. we have both foundation and individual support, and if we were able to obtain city backing, it would allow us to obtain water foundation support so that we conserve more members. our members live throughout the city from the richmond district to mission bay and in between. our goal is to have 450 members by the year 2015 with a minimum of 10% reduced the members. we are looking to the city of san francisco to help the funding of the board membership for low income seniors. right now we have reduced the membership of $100 a year for those who cannot afford a full

membership of $50 a month. our intent has always been to be at the gate and economically diverse. one of the ways that will help seniors maintain their sense of meaning and purpose in their lives is to provide opportunities for them to help other members. members helping members across the economic spectrum will be possible if we have the support of the city to grow our low income membership base. >> thank you. next speaker please. >> thank you very much. and i want to thank supervisor mar and his staff for spearheading this important study on aging in san francisco. i also want to thank joan