North Shore Village is the local face of a national movement: a consumer-driven model helping older adults stay in their homes for as long as they choose. In communities across the country, independent-minded adults have joined together to form organizations typically called ''Villages'' that help them to realize this goal. Today there are about 150 Villages nationwide, with dozens more on the horizon.

North Shore Village is modeled on one of the most successful of these communities, Boston's Beacon Hill Village, which began in the 2001 and now has more than 400 members.