Around twenty members of the Warwick community showed up at the Warwick Public Library Friday to discuss creating a Warwick Village.

This new village wouldn’t have anything to do with Conimicut, Apponaug, Pawtuxet or any other of the city’s physical villages; rather, this would be a community set up by The Village Common with volunteers helping older residents age in their homes.

Caroline Gangji, The Village Common’s executive director, said that starting a village in Warwick was something that the organization had been looking forward to doing. Twenty-seven percent of Warwick’s population is 65 years old or older.

Currently, The Village Common has villages in Providence, Edgewood, Barrington, Westerly, Glocester and Burrillville. Aside from Warwick, there are plans for villages in Cumberland, Newport, Jamestown, a Spanish-speaking Providence village, and a statewide group for LGBTQ+ seniors.

According to Gangji, a village in Warwick would have significant benefits for members- it would offer services that elderly members often struggle with and it would enable members to make connections, which Gangji said is something that is harder to do with age.

“We are not the answer to everything, but we are a great support,” Gangji said. “The volunteers probably get more out of it than the members. They really enjoy their interactions- our volunteers often become members.”

The volunteers undergo background checks, as Gangji said making sure that village members feel secure is of the utmost importance for The Village Common.

Those in attendance were primarily Warwicians interested in joining the group, though other attendees included representatives from groups including Westbay Community Action and the Central Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce, which Gangji said The Village Common would partner with. Gangji also mentioned the Pilgrim Senior Center as another partner.

Attendees were positive about starting a village in Warwick, though many had questions about just what shape it would take.

“I’m an enthusiastic fan of this idea,” John Sousa said. “There’s a huge need for this, and I don’t think you’ll find any problem finding people for it here in Warwick.”

Sousa also mentioned Personal Lifetime Advocacy Networks of Rhode Island (PLAN RI), an organization that he works with which helps families with disabled adult children make plans for them when the families are no longer able to take care of them.

Other attendees also asked Gangji about the possibility of making more localized villages for some of Warwick’s communities. Gangji said she had “full confidence” that volunteers would be able to serve the whole city, saying that many of the appointments that members would be driven to would be outside of Warwick anyways.

“I understand about Warwick, but I really have strength in our volunteers to drive throughout the city,” Gangji said.

Ultimately, attendees decided to revisit the issue later.

While the village would be primarily for elderly adults, Gangji noted that its doors are open to all, mentioning two younger members of other villages in the state living with medical conditions.

Overall, Gangji considered the meeting, which lasted over an hour and included approximately 20 attendees, a success.

The next step in creating the village, according to her, will be discussions among the Warwick Village’s steering committee about how they want the village to take shape.

As for the official start of the start of the village, Gangji said that it depends on the decisions made by the committee, but they’re looking for at least 20 volunteers and 10 dues-paying members before signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU).

Gangji and Director of the Rhode Island Department of Elderly Affairs Maureen Maigret noted that Cumberland, which is “a few months” ahead of Warwick, plans to officially start in the spring, but stressed that it wasn’t a race between the two communities.

“Speed isn’t important,” Gangji said. “What is, is that it reflects your community and what it wants and needs. It’s ensuring that it matches who you are.”