He didn’t know that chicken soup and ice cream were part of the Village’s ally program. But after Bernie Holicky’s cochlear implant surgery, Village ally volunteer and retired nurse Chris Hackney appeared in the hospital recovery room to go over his post-op instructions and take him home. No, not to Bernie’s home, but to Chris’s for soup and ice cream. Then, after depositing him at his own front door, she followed up with a next-day check. There’s more: they brunched together in the neighborhood after a couple of day’s recovery, “just to make sure” and because they were now friends.

Photo by Megan Byrd

The Eley family are multi-generational Village members. Salli Eley was one of the first members of the Village and in fact, was the first person to call the office with a service request when the Village opened in June, 2009. Her son Tom is also a Village member and is currently serving on the Village board of directors. Salli has availed herself of Village services over the years – and now Tom is involved in her care and well-being. Tom says, “Knowing that there are vetted resources and people paying attention is important and valuable to our whole family.”