Villages can benefit you no matter who you are.
So benefit yourself by joining the Vertical Village Alliance.*
We’re all paying in some way for America getting sicker and lonelier. Neighbors have the power to reduce those costs—and spread health & well-being—by growing caring communities, or villages. Vertical Village Alliance is about bringing people across sectors together to help us all thrive by bringing villages with in-home or close-by medical care to life.
*We’re gathering interested parties for a launch in fall 2026.
We believe in-home is a key to continued health.
6 in 10 Americans live with one or more chronic diseases, which cost trillions and can mostly be prevented through lifestyle and regular health screenings. In-home care could increase screening rates and lead to livelier people and less use of ERs for primary care.
Caring neighbors are vital for our vitality.
America’s care demands are outpacing capacity. The good news is that a Surgeon General report says, “The health of Americans is shaped in neighborhoods and communities outside the healthcare system.” That means neighbors of all ages can make the best in-home care partners.
Quality healthcare requires the people next door.
Beyond the health benefits of uniting neighbors, there are practical and economic ones too, like the power of physical proximity and resource sharing. It’s time to engage people with high caring potential and provide medical backup where they are—at or close to home.
Multifamily housing is perfect for villages.
Thriving vertical villages for all ages.
To unlock vertical—and horizontal—villages enhanced with home-based or close by medical care, …
We’re first inviting caring neighbors to sit at our table.
We’re also inviting the following people and all interested to join us:
HOME + COMMUNITY PROVIDERS:
Convenient care can increase disease screening and treatment rates and less use of ERs for primary care.
MULTIFAMILY HOUSING OWNERS:
Vertical villages work best when operating in properties with the support of owners and managers.
DIVERSE DECISION MAKERS:
All villages work best when backed by employers, elected leaders and public services and programs.
KNOWLEDGEABLE ADVISERS:
Tips, tools and trainings to help neighborhood villages thrive call for skilled and diverse points of view.
WE’RE GATHERING INTERESTED PARTIES FOR A LAUNCH IN FALL 2026.
Imagine a fun, tall community center where people live and get care.
Hello. I’m Dr. Mary-Elizabeth Harmon, founder of A Village for Life—home of the Vertical Village Alliance.
Now imagine all kinds of people of all ages thriving there. You’ve just imagined what I call a vertical village. And here are just some of its potential perks:
> Uniting people.
> Connecting villagers to resources.
> Promoting healthy living.
> Reducing loneliness and social isolation across ages.
> Nurturing youth and helping older adults to live in community.
> Sparking creativity and joy!
> Providing home-based volunteer and business opportunities.
> Providing opportunities to learn and teach skills.
> Creating a culture of care and support networks for caregivers.
> Reminding us that we’re the same and interdependent.
Want to be part of bringing this to life?
QUESTIONS:
How do villages work?
Villages vary but generally they connect their members to each other and to services, programs and projects, like around health. A Village for Life imagines villages in which neighbors are the primary producers of the products villagers use and activities they do.
Are villages safe?
People with bad intent are everywhere, even as employees of reputable care companies. Clear background checks on neighbors working with kids or inside of homes can reduce safety concerns. Otherwise, villages are no more unsafe than other community activities.
Why focus on growing villages in multifamily housing?
For three main reasons: 1) Easeabiliy 2) Attainability and 3) Accessibility.
Multifamily housing has many dwellers, so they’re easy places to unite people. It also tends to offer attainable living options for people across incomes, as well as stair-free ways that people with wheelchairs or walkers, or in strollers or on stretchers, can come and go.
How can vertical villages benefit the multifamily housing landscape?
Forward-thinking employers know that care benefits help to woo and retain workers. Caring communities in properties can help to woo and retain diverse renters, so supporting vertical villages is as much a benefit to building owners / operators as neighbors.
Are there existing vertical villages anywhere?
Yes. The Overlook at Oxon Run in D.C. and Kampung Admiralty in Singapore are two wonderful examples. But until such time that housing is built to foster neighborhood villages, our motto is to do the best we can with the housing stock and resources we have.