By Dustin Luca
STAFF WRITER
An organization meant to help Andover seniors stay independently in their homes as long as possible has announced that it will end operations at the end of the month.
"Despite our best efforts and a great deal of hard work over many years, we have not achieved the growth in membership or in donations and foundation support to be a financially viable organization," The Andovers Village at Home Board of Directors wrote in a letter to the Townsman. "While growth has been a challenge, TAVAH has been a lifeline for many people and its loss will reverberate for a long time to come."
"The board had to come to that very painful decision," said Nancy Mulvey, clerk on the organization's Board of Directors. "The decision was made while we still had sufficient resources to be able to pay all of our bills and not go into a debt situation."
TAVAH offered services to senior citizens and those in need throughout Andover and North Andover. It started around 2006 from the inspiration of similar virtual village organizations.
"Beacon Hill Village in Boston was the first type of village like this," said Mulvey. "A number of us who were serving on the Andover Council on Aging became interested in looking at that project. We started visiting them and got their manual, and began to explore setting one up in Andover."
The non-profit organization, which eventually expanded its services into North Andover as well, offered services like transportation, handymen, computer assistance and help around the house for those who needed it, according to Mulvey.
It also maintained a list of trusted service providers — plumbers, carpenters and otherw who were vetted by TAVAH. Personal recommendations of service providers cannot be made by municipal organizations, Mulvey said.
"Not everybody wants to move into a group setting as their needs increase," said Mulvey. "A huge percentage of people — 85 to 90 percent — want to stay in their own homes as they age. I think we had a creative option to support people to do that."
While TAVAH will cease to operate after Feb. 29, Mulvey thinks that many volunteers with the program will continue helping those who benefited from TAVAH's services.
"Some of the things, maybe, will continue because people have made a connection with other people, and if they're volunteering, they may continue volunteering, but we can't guarantee anything we can't guarantee," said Mulvey. "Through my great disappointment, I have to have hope that something will evolve from this experience, that something will continue to be a support service for seniors."
Message from TAVAH Board on decision to disband
The Board of Directors of The Andovers Village at Home (TAVAH) voted last week, with deep regret, to cease operations as of February 29, 2012. This is a most difficult and painful decision. All of us who have been involved in TAVAH care about each of our members and have been committed to our purpose of responding to their needs and requests for services. Despite our best efforts and a great deal of hard work over many years, we have not achieved the growth in membership or in donations and foundation support to be a financially viable organization.
We are very proud of all that we have accomplished; recruiting a talented group of preferred providers, creating meaningful events and activities for our members, developing a pool of loyal volunteers, and establishing supportive relationships with respected organizations like Lawrence General Hospital, Home Health VNA, and the Andover/North Andover YMCA.
For various reasons, the village concept has not caught on in the Andovers as it has done successfully in other areas of Massachusetts, New England, and across the country.
TAVAH was a perfect example of the kind of initiative that communities like ours must embrace as our population ages and requires greater support to remain safe, independent and connected to the community. It embodied the spirit of neighbors helping neighbors and volunteerism that is often lost these days.
While growth has been a challenge, TAVAH has been a lifeline for many people and its loss will reverberate for a long time to come. Unfortunately, those who were not ready for it yet will never realize the benefits it could have afforded them.
We wish to thank those individuals and organizations who believed in us and supported TAVAH through their affiliation and dedication of time and resources.
