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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate NEWS NOW Body of distance runner Todd Ragsdale has been found ... Ashland Calendar, Jan. 30, 2016 ... Massive search underway for missing distance runner Todd Ragsdale ... Body of distance runner Todd Ragsdale has been found ... Ashland Calendar, Jan. 30, 2016 ... Massive search underway for missing distance runner Todd Ragsdale ... ELDER CARE Ashland At Home helps people stay in their own homes Comment By Jim Flint For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Jim Flint For the Tidings Posted Jan. 26, 2016 at 8:12 PM Updated Jan 27, 2016 at 10:10 AM By Jim Flint For the Tidings Posted Jan. 26, 2016 at 8:12 PM Updated Jan 27, 2016 at 10:10 AM » Social News If you’re like most people, you want to stay in your own home as you age. But sometimes life gets in the way. For some seniors, reduced eyesight, poorer balance, and reduced flexibility can make living independently difficult. Experiencing those kinds of difficulties as a single person can make it even more arduous, without the help of a partner. In Ashland, an independent nonprofit organization has come to the rescue. Ashland At Home (AAH) is part of the “Village Movement” that is redefining retirement for many older adults. Barbara Jarvis and David Florian are members and on the AAH board of directors. They are enthusiastic promoters of the organization, now in its fourth year and “running smoothly,” said Florian. Jarvis, 81, is president of the board. She is a pro tem magistrate of the Ashland Municipal Court and an attorney. Her thick silver hair in a neat pageboy cut frames a youthful face. She enjoys Ashland’s cultural events, travels in her RV and takes OLLI classes at Southern Oregon University. A few months after her husband died in 2009, a neighbor told her about visiting Beacon Hill Village in Boston. “Beacon Hill is part of a movement where older people form a community — for social reasons and to help each other,” she said. “I thought it was a good idea for Ashland. We surveyed 1,300 people in the city and got 300 responses, which was a lot!” Florian, 74, is AAH board secretary. He taught at Stanford and UCLA, and then went on to own and operate a retail video business and video production company for 25 years in the Bay Area with his wife, Carole. He has a lean frame, and his mostly brown hair flows into graying sideburns and a close-cropped beard. He and Carole enjoy traveling, are involved in the Ashland New Plays Festival, and are ardent concert goers. He is impressed with how the Village Movement has grown — to about 200 communities today with another 200 in the process of forming. “It truly has become an international movement,” Florian said. “I went to one of the early conferences, and there were people from New Zealand, Japan, Denmark and Australia.” After a series of informational meetings in 2009 and 2010 to gauge local interest, organizers formed a board and began the process of establishing AAH. It opened in 2012. Today it has nearly 70 members in Ashland and Talent with a roster of more than 70 volunteers. According to research by AARP, 82 percent of seniors who need some help would prefer to stay in their own homes. Only a few expressed a preference for moving to a facility where care is provided (9 percent) or for moving to a relative’s home (4 percent). Living under their own rules is one of the key reasons people give for wanting to stay in their own home. That’s where AAH comes in, said Jarvis. “Lower income retirees have options for help, including government aid programs. The very wealthy have no problem. It’s those in the middle who can benefit from this kind of community,” she said. What kinds of services does AAH provide? “Transportation is the biggie,” said Florian. “But our volunteers also do pet sitting, dog walking, water plants when people are away, help organize papers, deal with insurance, move boxes, help with computer problems, change light bulbs and more.” Transportation services are episodic, Florian explained. “We don’t do every-Monday-to-the-gym.” But if somebody needs a ride to a doctor’s appointment or to the grocery store, AAH can help. AAH also has programs, workshops, and social groups. “We have groups who are interested in poetry,” Florian said, “as well as scrapbooking, wine tasting, birding.” “We had an occupational therapist show members how to make their homes safer,” Jarvis added. “Our volunteers also do compassionate listening and help with financial affairs. This is a community,” she said. Not all volunteers are members. All volunteers, members or not, are trained and vetted. Volunteers can’t fill every need. Helping move a washing machine is doable, but fixing it is another matter. For jobs that require a professional, AAH has a list of vendors recommended by members. Jarvis interviews them before adding them to the list. “Some give discounts,” she said, “but it’s not mandatory.” When members need help, they call the AAH office, which sends out an alert to a list of volunteers, then gives the responding volunteer the member’s contact number. “We don’t want a member to get attached to one service provider,” said Jarvis. “And we don’t want to impose on anybody. So that’s why requests go through the office.” How do other members feel about Ashland At Home? Margot Howe and Elizabeth Flemmer shared some of the experiences they’ve had with the organization. Howe, 96, an AAH for more than three years, lives in the Mountain Meadows retirement community in Ashland. “I like the people in Ashland At Home,” she said. “It’s been very nice.” “Once I had rodents under my house, and the office got a professional to come over and take care of it for me. I’ve been invited to lunches. And a volunteer has come a number of times to help me with problems I had with my computer,” Howe said. Flemmer lives in the upper Tolman Creek area and has been an Ashland resident for 15 years. “I can only give you glowing reports about Ashland At Home,” she said. “People who are members all bring something to the table. They have great life experiences and something to add.” Flemmer belongs to Bosom Buddies, a group of women who have lost their life partners and who get together for lunch on a regular basis. She’s had help from volunteers as well. “Last year when I got a dreadful cold, running a temperature, I needed groceries, so I called the office,” Flemmer said. The office contacted a couple who volunteered to get her groceries for her. She provided a list, and after the couple picked up the groceries, they left them at her back door, where a check was waiting for them. “I didn’t want to infect them,” she said. During the year and a half Flemmer has been a member, she has received numerous rides from volunteers — to the airport, and twice when she had to have her eyes dilated. There are types of services AAH does not offer. “There is no help in and out of bed,” said Jarvis. “No help with drugs or medical issues, no regular transportation runs.” “We don’t offer assisted living,” said Florian. “But we can help a member find a place, if needed.” “Yes, if people are beginning to lose the ability to live independently, AAH can help them find a solution,” said Jarvis. “Last year we had an intern from (Southern Oregon University) call all members and poll them,” Florian said. “They were asked how they felt about services rendered, what they did or did not like, whether they intended to continue their membership.” The responses were overwhelmingly positive, he said. Members pay an annual fee of $500 per person, or $600 for a couple. “We wanted to be self-funding,” said Florian, “and not rely on grants or outside funds that might not be renewed.” “For some we have offered financial assistance on membership fees,” Jarvis added. Jarvis interviews people interested in becoming members to make sure their needs match the abilities of AAH. Today, AAH is on a sound financial footing, Jarvis said. AAH has an office at 2405 Siskiyou Blvd., and a paid executive director, Katharine Danner, who started with the organization as a volunteer. For more information, interested persons can call the office at 541-613-6985 or go to the website, ashlandathome.org . For Jarvis and Florian, AAH not only fills a need, but also adds quality of life for everybody involved. Jim Flint is a retired newspaper publisher living in Ashland. Reach him at jimflint.ashland @yahoo.com. By Jim Flint For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Jim Flint For the Tidings Posted Jan. 26, 2016 at 8:12 PM Updated Jan 27, 2016 at 10:10 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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