De Nosotros Para Nosotros (From Us to You) Partnership with faith-based community

Most “villages” or aging in place programs take root in middle to upper middle class communities and neighborhoods.  A criticism of the movement is that few models for aging in place in low-income communities have been developed or piloted.  However in Westchester County, New York, The Center for Aging in Place (TCAP) established a model for aging in place in Yonkers, NY, a low-income, predominantly Hispanic Latino neighborhood located in the county’s largest city. 

De Nosotros Para Nosotros (From Us to You) began in 2009 and officially launched in March 2010.  It is a joint effort between The Center for Aging in Place and Inglesia San Andres, a small Episcopal congregation in southwest Yonkers.

The Model

	Organized around and through a faith-based community
	All volunteer, dues-free
	Services based needs assessment
	Intergenerational
	Partnerships to expand services; provide referrals
	Linked to larger, aging in place initiative

The mission of De Nosotros Para Vosotros is to support the aging in place of community residents over age 55 and to improve their quality of life. They seek to empower community seniors through new formalized networks of volunteer assistance that offer services and supports as well as enjoyable social interactions and meaningful volunteer opportunities.  The program is open to church members and non-members who live in the Yonkers community. Currently, there are approximately 60 active members that include a mix of adults (over age 55) and teenagers (ages 13-17).