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Village Model 101

🌍 What Is the Village Model?


The Village Model is a nationally recognized, community-based approach to aging that helps older adults remain independent, connected, and engaged in their own homes and neighborhoods.


Villages are member-driven, volunteer-supported, and locally focused. There are hundreds of Villages across the country — each shaped by its community.


🤔 What the Village Model Is NOT

  • ❌ Not assisted living
  • ❌ Not home care or medical services
  • ❌ Not a physical building
  • ❌ Not a one-way service system


✅ What the Village Model IS


👥 Member-Centered

  • Support helps people stay in homes they love
  • Members help shape programs, activities, and priorities.


🤝 Volunteer-Powered


Neighbors support neighbors in practical, everyday ways.


🌱 Prevention-Focused


Building community before a crisis improves long-term wellbeing.


🏡 Aging in Place Friendly


Support helps people stay in homes they love.


💛 Rooted in Connection


Social relationships are as important as services.


🌺 The Mālama Village Difference


Mālama Village brings the Village Model to Hawaiʻi with a deep respect for local culture, community values, and the spirit of aloha. Our Village reflects the people who are part of it — diverse, caring, and committed to one another.