Celebrating DC’s New Villages!

By Morgan Gopnik, Northwest Neighbors Village (NNV), DC Villages Collaborative (DCVC), & Washington Area Villages Exchange (WAVE) Board Member

On September 23, I had the great pleasure of attending the graduation ceremony for DC’s three new Villages: Nehemiah Intergenerational Village (covering the Kenilworth, Eastland Gardens, Parkside, Deanwood, and Burrville neighborhoods in Ward 7), Faith North Michigan Park Village (covering the Michigan Park, Pleasant Hills, Riggs Park, and Fort Totten neighborhoods in Ward 5) (email: faithunitedcdc@gmail.com), and Village on the Avenue (covering a wide swath of neighborhoods in Ward 7).

These three communities went through a rigorous, year-long process of assessing the needs of their older residents, assembling leadership teams, and creating the organizational structure necessary to launch a vibrant Village, custom-designed to serve their neighborhoods. These new Villages join the existing 13 Villages across DC to extend services to a much broader and more diverse cross-section of seniors throughout the city.

The graduation party was a blast! Attendees from across the city enjoyed food, music, awards, and speeches at Cleveland Woodley Park Village’s new Village Square. Nathan Gomez from the Department of Aging and Community Living was there, as well as three members of the DC City Council: Matt Frumin from Ward 3, Wendell Felder from Ward 7, and Elissa Silverman At-Large. All made heart-warming remarks about the critical role of Villages and offered their staunch support for the Village movement, vowing to continue the great work of outgoing Councilmember Anita Bonds!

I felt proud to represent Northwest Neighbors Village as we welcomed these new partners to fulfill our shared mission of empowering older adults to thrive as they age.

Photo of a group of people smiling at the camera Photo of an audience paying attention to something off screen
l to r: Felicia Williams Simms, Dr. Katt Polk, Rev. Dr. Kendrick Curry, Rev. Smith Banks, Councilmember Felder, Councilmember Frumin, Sharita Slayton, Councilmember Silverman Participants listen attentively while enjoying Cleveland Park Village’s new gathering place!

Click here to watch a fabulous short video that captures the spirit of the day.