Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Homeless Cohousing

[R Philip Dowds (rpdowds]

I am in full agreement that America in general needs to invent, tolerate and 
support a wider range of living accommodations.  Be advised, however, that the 
model describe below does not fit well at all with most zoning and building 
codes.  If it is ownership, what lender will accept the mortgage; if it is 
rental, then who is responsible for running it?  And finally, many or most of 
the homeless have serious personality problems that prevent them from living 
normally, never mind collaboratively.  If this is a community of the previously 
homeless, then the residents are high-functioning, cream of the crop.

An alternative model — one with its own set of challenges — is that of 
cohousing owned and operated by a majority of “normal” people, but also having 
a few specialty units for special populations.  This helps dodge the problem of 
housing projects that concentrate special needs people all in one place — sort 
of like a nuclear reactor with no damper rods.

RPD
 
On May 31, 2014, at 7:30 PM, Sharon Villines <sharon [at] sharonvillines.com> 
wrote:

> 
> A friend sent this. A fabulous model for low income cohousing:
> -------------
> Each village has separate living units, plus a common area.  Each unit is a 
> “tiny home” – depending on the community, could be 99-144 square feet, no 
> kitchen!  In some communities, the homes have solar panels, composting 
> toilet. 
> http://billmoyers.com/2014/02/24/are-tiny-houses-the-key-to-fighting-homelessness/
> At the Quixote Village in Olympia, Washington, there are 30 “tiny homes” that 
> are 16’ x 20’. “The residents also have a common space with shared showers, a 
> laundry, garden space, and a kitchen. By sharing these amenities, the 
> community was able to increase the affordability of the project and design a 
> neighborhood they believed would fit their needs and make them more 
> self-sufficient.
> “The shared space has also helped them create a supportive community. The 
> residents, who are self-governed, have developed a rulebook that prohibits 
> illegal drugs and alcohol on the grounds and requires that each member put in 
> a certain number of service hours per week. They meet twice a week in the 
> evenings to discuss problems or concerns and to share a common meal that they 
> take turns cooking.
> Cost to build: $5,000 - $87,000 per unit, depending on the community/location 
> (and donations).
> One, called “Second Wind,” is in Newfield, NY near Ithaca: 
> http://secondwindcottages.org/
> -------------
> This really looks promising. I lived in a Zen Center in a room this size 
> Without a kitchen, toilet or shower. What made it workable was having a sink, 
> oddly enough. I could wash things without running down the hall. Bring food 
> back to my room and wash up the dishes. Wash my hair, etc.
> In most places this would need subsidies or guarantees to get built. Many 
> homeless people do have jobs, they just can't pay the high rents that most 
> safe places charge. Monthly payments on these houses would be possible but a 
> bank would be reluctant to loan to them and for this kind of housing. A house 
> with no shower? In some places banks don't want to loan money on less than 
> two bedrooms.
> 
> Sharon
> ----
> Sharon Villines
> Sociocracy: A Deeper Democracy
> http://www.sociocracy.info
> 
> 
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