Village Resources

Learn about the Village model

Villages are grass-roots, neighborhood focused organizations that provide various services for senior members

• Learn about the Village model from the Village to Village Network.
• Learn about local DC Villages from AARP.

Learn how to start a Village

• 43 page (2011) Bethesda/Chevy Chase Regional Service Center publication entitled, “Village Blue Print: Building a Community for All Ages.”
• Free and member resources from the Village to Village Network.

Find a Village

• Find an existing Village through the Village to Village Network.

Gourmet home delivered meals

Meals on Wheels offer low-cost meal delivery to seniors nationwide.  DC’s Homebound Meal program offers subsidized meal delivery to certain homebound DC seniors.  Some seniors prefer more “gourmet” meals.  A few options are below.

• (DC, MD) SOMA Flavors (for-profit company) provides home-delivered meals to a limited service area.
• (DC, MD, Va, and elsewhere) Diet To Go (a for-profit company) provides delivered low-fat, vegetarian, or low-carb meals.
• (nationwide) Home Bistro delivers frozen, fully prepared meals.

Call or email Iona Information & Referral (202-895-9448; info@Iona.org) to learn more about subsidized and low-cost meal delivery in the DC metro area.

Subsidized Home Care

Home care (or personal care) aides can help seniors with personal care (bathing, dressing, etc.), cooking, and medication reminders.  Some aides also help with light housekeeping, driving, grocery shopping, and errands.  In 2009, the fee for a home care aide in the DC metro region ranged from around $15 to $30 per hour, depending on the agency and the services required.   Medicare rarely pays for these services.   In DC and MD, Medicaid* will pay for personal care under limited circumstances.  The non-profits below also offer subsidized home care.  Income/asset limits may apply.

• (DC) Home Care Partners provides subsidized assistance with personal care and light housekeeping for DC seniors.  For more information, call 202-638-2382.
• (MD) Maryland seniors younger than age 65 may be eligible for financial assistance for home care through the Maryland Attendant Care Program.
• (DC, MD, VA) Senior Corps Senior Companion program provides subsidized homemaking, cooking, light housekeeping, grocery shoppint, and errands; they do NOT help with personal care.  To find a local agency, visit the Senior Corps website.

*Medicaid is a federally-funded, state-run program.  Benefits and eligibility may vary from state to state.

Call or email Iona Information & Referral (202-895-9448; info@Iona.org) for answers to aging-related resource questions.

Selecting a Home Care Aide/Agency

Home care (or personal care) aides can help seniors with personal care (bathing, dressing, etc.), cooking, and medication reminders.  Some aides also help with light housekeeping, driving, grocery shopping, and errands.  In 2009, the fee for a home care aide in the DC metro region ranged from around $15 to $30 per hour, depending on the agency and the services required.   Medicare rarely pays for these services.  The following resources may help in selecting a home care aide or agency.

• 2006 Met Life guide describes types of home care agencies and levels of care.
• 2006 Met Life publication, “Hiring an Independent Caregiver.”
• Mayo Clinics web article on questions to ask home care agencies.
• Iona’s Resource Guide contains listings of private and pay and subsidized home care in the DC metro area.   Request a free copy at 202-895-9448 or info@Iona.org.
• Or request a consult with one of Iona’s care managers.  For more information, call 202-895-9448 or email at info@Iona.org.

Call or email Iona Information & Referral (202-895-9448; info@Iona.org) for help identifying private pay and subsidized home care agencies in the DC metro area; or learn how our social workers can help you select the agency that best meets your needs.

Friendly visitors for isolated seniors

Many non-profits and faith communities, including the ones below, offer volunteer friendly visitors, who provide socialization for homebound or isolated seniors.

• (DC) Iona’s volunteer companions visit isolated seniors in DC’s Ward 3 and parts of Wards 2 and 4.  Our volunteer companions also may help with grocery shopping and errands.  For more information, call 202-895-9448 or email info@Iona.org.
• (DC) Emmaus provides friendly visitors to isolated seniors living in Ward 2.  For more information, call 202-745-1200.
• (DC) So Other’s Might Eat Interfaith volunteer caregivers visit isolated seniors in Wards 6, 7, and 8.  For more information, call 202-581-8000.
• (MD) The Mental Health Association of Montgomery County provides friendly visitors to isolated county residents.  For more information, call 301-424-0656.
• (DC, MD, VA) Senior Corps Senior Companions provide socialization, light housekeeping, and errands.  Find a local office at the Senior Corps website.

Food and Friends – home delivered meals

Food & Friends is a private non-profit, which provides subsidized home-delivered meals to DC metro residents living with certain life-limiting diseases.  Other eligibility requirements also apply.  For more information, see their website.

Call or email Iona Information & Referral (202-895-9448; info@Iona.org) for answers to aging-related resource questions.

Meals on Wheels

Meals on Wheels is a private non-profit, which provides low-cost home-delivered meals.  Scholarships are available at some locations.  To find a Meals on Wheels location, visit their website at www.mowaa.org and select “find a meal.”

Call or email Iona Information & Referral (202-895-9448; info@Iona.org) for answers to aging-related resource questions.

DC subsidized home-delivered meals

The DC Office on Aging’s Homebound Meals Program provides subsidized home-delivered meals, three days per week, to senior DC residents, age 60+.     The meal service is coordinated by six “lead agencies,” each of which serve a different geographical part of the city.  For more information, contact the agencies below.

• Ward 1 residents contact Barney Neighborhood House 202-939-9020
• Ward 2 residents (Foggy Bottom and Dupont Circle, west of 16th St., NW) contact Iona 202-895-9448
• Ward 2 residents (all other parts of Ward 2) contact Emmaus – 202-745-1200.
• Ward 3 residents contact Iona 202-895-9448.
• Ward 4 residents (west of Rock Creek Park) contact Iona 202-895-9448.
• Ward 4 residents (east of Rock Creek Park) contact Barney Neighborhood House 202-939-9020
• Ward 5 residents contact Seabury 202-529-8701
• Ward 6 residents contact SWWRC 202-608-1340
• Ward 7 residents contact ERFSC 202-397-7300
• Ward 8 residents contact AHI Senior Services 202-562-6860

Call or email Iona Information & Referral (202-895-9448; info@Iona.org) for answers to aging-related resource questions.

Fall Prevention Guides

American Geriatrics Society brochure, “A Patient’s Guide to Preventing Falls.”

CDC brochure, “What You Can Do to Prevent Falls,” and Spanish version.

National Osteoporosis Foundation check list on home safety and fall prevention.

Call or email Iona Information & Referral (202-895-9448; info@Iona.org) for answers to aging-related resource questions.

Home Care Aide Taxes

2009 Wall Street Journal article on when individuals (who hire in-home caregivers) must pay federal social security and unemployment taxes.

Call or email Iona Information & Referral (202-895-9448; info@Iona.org) for answers to aging-related resource questions.