In a sign of new challenges for retirement village operators, South Australia’s first Not For Profit “Village Hub” is set to launch in the Fleurieu region.
The Hub is a Federal Government initiative, funded by its Seniors Connected program; it will be established by COTA SA for the first two years before transitioning to member management in the third year.
Ten hubs are planned nationally as an extension of a trial that has been running for approximately three years. The model is a variation of the US Beacon Hill model that now has over 300 satellite hubs across America.
The Goolwa Victor Harbor Village Hub, a project of South Australia’s Council on the Ageing (COTA SA), will network older residents in the region – including towns such as Goolwa, Victor Harbor, and Port Elliot – to provide social connections and support services like those provided in a retirement village, while allowing members to continue living at home.
Retirement Living Council Life Member, Loretta Byers, is a local resident and advising the group.
In a job posting, the Village Hub is described as “run for, by, and with older people living in the Southern Fleurieu”.
“The Hub will be sustainable and peer led, an exchange where people help people to live and age well in the local community.
“Hub members will work together with their community contributing their skills, participating in the Hub’s governance and supporting one another,” it says.
