Diverse Baltimore County ‘village’ helps seniors stay safer, healthier, while still living at home

An icy wind sweeps across the grounds of the busiest mosque in the Baltimore area, swirling up little patches of snow, but the atmosphere inside a ranch house on the 8-acre campus is as warm and friendly as a neighbor’s kitchen. The aroma of kofta, a curried meatball dish, fills a cozy front room. White-haired men surround a folding table to watch an impromptu game of chess, some standing, others sitting, speaking in an animated mix of Urdu, Punjabi and English. As Shabbir Kapadia, 76, grabs a pawn and tries to slide it five squares as though it was a bishop, Jalal Akbar, 74, who is looking on, grabs his wrist and reminds him of the rules.