Re: Posting Request-Dealing with Sensitive Issues | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: Alicia George (ajgeorgeearthlink.net) | |
Date: Tue, 1 Oct 2019 21:23:37 -0700 (PDT) |
I recently wrote an article on how my community dealt with emotionally laden issues involving some of our kids. The article ("Raising Troubled Children in Community") was published in the fall issue of Communities Magazine <https://www.ic.org/community-bookstore/product/communities-magazine-the-shadow-side-of-cooperation/>. Takoma Village doesn’t have a formal process for dealing with sensitive issues like this. And unlike many communities, we don’t have a team who helps resolve conflicts. So my suggestions, offered below in brief, are based on my experience as the parent of a troubled child: 1. Bring as much compassion to the situation as you can. The problematic individuals may be dealing with mental health issues, and their families are almost surely struggling to cope. 2. Support the families of the problematic individuals in communicating as openly as possible with the community. It’s likely they are working to address the problem behaviors in ways that aren’t visible to everyone. Help them share that information, which can allay some concerns others in the community may have or prompt additional suggestions for action. 3. Consider a restorative justice circle as a way to help the people causing the problems to understand their impact on their neighbors and provide a mechanism for resolution and reconciliation. Often trainers in Non-Violent Communication (NVC) are familiar with specialists who can facilitate such a gathering. 4. Call the police when the situation warrants it. You have a right to protect your families and your property. Involving the authorities signals that the problem behavior is being treated seriously. In some cases, it also opens the door to services that families can access to help their troubled family member. Alicia George Takoma Village Cohousing Washington, DC On Sep 30, 2019, at 8:25 AM, Robin7500 [at] gmail.com <mailto:Robin7500 [at] gmail.com> wrote: How do some communities deal with emotionally laden issues? We already decide things by consensus, but this is different. Before we have a proposal at hand, how do communities deal with a topic that can be especially sensitive and about one household, but affecting the community. Examples could be a difficult, agressive child or an adult child who has moved back with parents but has questionable behavior and friends visiting. Do some co-housing communities have a process in place for dealing with such topics.
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Posting Request-Dealing with Sensitive Issues Robin, September 29 2019
- Re: Posting Request-Dealing with Sensitive Issues Elizabeth Magill, September 30 2019
- Re: Posting Request-Dealing with Sensitive Issues Alan O'Hashi, October 1 2019
- Re: Posting Request-Dealing with Sensitive Issues Alicia George, October 1 2019
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