May is Older Americans Month, and a group of Benicia citizens has been spending the month honoring the spirit of that designation.

The Carquinez Village Project is in the process helping aging Benicians and others have full lives at home, its founders said.

“We chose the name Carquinez Village Project rather than connecting the project to a specific Solano County city because we are still assessing local interests and needs,” said Judie Donaldson, who with Lois Requist serves as steering committee co-chair. “That way, we can include a number of Western Solano County communities, depending on seniors’ needs and interests as well as community support.”

The Village Project is researching those interests and needs and building a volunteer network that will determine what services and products are available for older residents as well as those lacking in Solano County.

“People need access to services to stay in their homes,” Donaldson said. “As an organization, we have a self-supporting goal, but it requires grants and seed money to kick us off. Once in place, the services offered will be invaluable to people who need them.”

The Village concept started about 15 years ago with the purpose of meeting the needs of the nation’s growing older population, with the intent that they could remain in their communities and “age in place,” said another member, Bobbi Rubinstein.

“Many seniors, especially those without friends or grown children nearby, need extra help to stay in their homes as long as they wish. That’s where organized Villages make a difference,” she said.

The movement started as a group of neighbors helping neighbors with tasks, from changing a light bulb to driving each other to stores or medical offices, she said.

It expanded to include referrals for such services as home repair, then incorporated social and educational opportunities.

Andrew Scharlach, a professor at the University of California-Berkeley and director of the Center for the Advanced Study of Aging Services, said in the past churches and fraternal organizations as well as neighbors provided many of those services to the elderly.

“Part of what’s happening is we’re seeing less of a role for those organizations in people’s lives and less of a role of stable communities and neighborhoods in people’s lives,” he said. “California is among the fastest growing regions for Villages, with more than 20 Villages throughout the state, and more than double that amount in development.”

Most of the Villages — membership associations or “virtual villages” rather than brick-and-mortar communities — are nonprofit organizations, Rubinstein said. Each is designed to fit the needs of its individual community.

Members obtain services that are provided by volunteers or staff members, she said.

“It’s a neighbor-helping-neighbor concept that, as a bonus, builds community,” she said, citing literature from Village to Village Network, the national nonprofit that encourages development of the local Village projects.

So far, 150 Village projects have been founded throughout the U.S., and about 140 are in an exploratory phase, she said, crediting Village to Village Network for the information.

The Carquinez Village Project is among the latter — good timing, Rubinstein said, since May is Older Americans Month, a time when issues that affect older residents are highlighted and activities promoting health and wellness for the elderly take place.

Communities are being encouraged to “Get Into the Act,” this year’s theme, Rubinstein said.

“Residents of Solano County have been ‘getting into the act’ by exploring the feasibility of founding a Village in Western Solano County,” she said, explaining that the local planning committee is starting a grassroots membership organization modeled on other successful Village programs.

Rubinstein said the 2010 U.S. Census determined that more than 2,200 Benicia residents and more than 8,000 Vallejo residents are older than 65. Of the elderly in Benicia, nearly 1,000 receive less than $39,999 a year, and nearly 5,000 older Vallejo residents get less than that amount, she said.

On the other hand, about 550 Benicians and more than 11,000 Vallejo residents in that age bracket get more than $100,000 a year.

Among those committed to establishing the Carquinez Village are members of five committees and a team made up of a project secretary and technology expert, Jeanne Ekdahl of Benicia and Dr. Alan Perchuk, a Benicia physician who is an adviser.

Tim Wolf and Linda Barron, both of Benicia, lead the Programs, Services and Volunteers Committee that is looking at available services and who might use them.

Linda Cook of Vallejo and Lars Ekdahl of Benicia are co-chairs of the Organization and Governance Committee that is developing the Carquinez Village’s mission statement and organizational structure. Gayla Reiter and Rubinstein, both of Benicia, lead the Communications and Marketing Committee that is developing outreach materials, a website and social media contacts.

Looking into how to fund the project are Finance and Fundraising Committee co-chairs Donaldson and Gerri Forcier, both of Benicia, while Diane Choquette and Suzanne Awalt, also of Benicia, are assessing services and unmet needs through the Needs Assessment Committee.

The organization meets the third Thursday of each month at 10:30 a.m. in the Doña Benicia Room of Benicia Public Library, and members hear programs on matters important to older residents, Rubinstein said. For instance, falls are the number one cause of fatalities of those older than 65, she said. So one program was given by Laura McLaren, fall prevention coordinator for Solano County Area Agency on Aging.

At the next meeting, June 18, Carolyn Plath, a contributor to The Herald and retired high school principal, will talk about the humorous side of life and getting older, Rubinstein said.

Attorney Steve Gizzi will speak July 16 on describing legal matters that affect the elderly. Aldo Serrano of Benicia Police Department will explain Aug. 20 how the elderly can protect themselves from scams, Rubinstein said.