The Caring Collaborative is an innovative model for aging in community developed by members of The Transition Network.  Funded by the New York State Health Foundation, the TTN Caring Collaborative is a two-year demonstration project designed to show how a program of strategic assistance offered by friends and neighbors can effectively help women handle emerging health issues, thereby avoiding more expensive interventions and improve overall outcomes.

The TTN Caring Collaborative was designed, developed and implemented by a volunteer committee of TTN members. It mobilizes the good will that exists within TTN’s peer group network and using a “time bank” assigns value to ad hoc support, like bringing in a home-cooked meal to a neighbor that is sick or accompanying a friend to an outpatient procedure.  It allows people to benefit from the health care experiences of others, like what to expect during breast cancer treatment or how to optimize recovery following knee replacement surgery.   And it allows people to plan for that rainy day – when an accidental fall or unexpected diagnosis compromises one’s independence. 

Since the TTN Caring Collaborative officially launched in October 2008, more than 200 members have enthusiastically joined.  They were the pioneers testing the program concept and components in order to create a scalable model for other informal communities. 

“How to” manuals describing TTN’s experience are now available; click below to download.

Download Our Resource Manuals

Currently, the TTN Caring Collaborative is only open to TTN chapter members. To see if there is a Caring Collaborative chapter in your area, visit The Transition Network for more information.

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