Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Portland area! Aging Successfully Study Group One

[Debra Feiger (debrafeiger]

Hi Laurie
I am so happy to see this email.  Very important to have these discussions.
I currently live in Israel and am looking to move back to the NW into
co-housing.  Will your sessions be recorded.  It will be 4-6am time zone
for me when you are meeting and I would hate to miss this dialogue.
Thank you
Devora Feiger


On Mon, 5 Jun 2023 at 13:33 Laurie Sonnenfeld <lauriesonnenfeld [at] gmail.com>
wrote:

> Starts this Sunday June 11, 6 to 8 pm.
>
> *What do you want your living situation to be as you get older? *
>
> Do you want to own and shape how you will live out your life? Want to
> maintain sovereignty and agency in your life as long as possible?
>
> Many boomers want something different than a conventional retirement
> community or care setting.
> I'm leading a study group starting June 11, "Solutions for Aging
> Successfully." Together we will explore what aging well could look like and
> take steps towards creating that vision.
>
> The first aging "study group 1's" were held in Denmark (where cohousing
> originated in the 1980s). Our group is not exclusively focused on cohousing
> but it will be one of the options considered and explored.
> We will be using a book titled "Senior Cohousing, Study Group 1, Aging
> Successfully" by Charles Durrett with Jean Nilsson. Charles wrote the first
> book in the US about cohousing, and many more since then. He has been the
> architect for 55 cohousing communities. I took his "training for trainers"
> Study Group One last fall.  "Many in the early Danish classes felt that
> older adults were being institutionalized too early, either because they
> were lonely and isolated or needed minor assistance. ... While most elders
> had prepared wills, they had neglected to consider where they would get
> social support if their spouses died or if they lost the ability to drive.
> They began to explore the challenges and opportunities of aging in place,
> and the inherent advantages of being part of a close-knit community."
>
> We will look at our today needs, issues, experiences and desires, and
> future needs and desires. We'll work with the chapters of the book to "get
> out of denial" about our future.  In addition to cohousing and co-ops as
> options, we will look at the "Village" movement and what it may have to
> offer in terms of resources for successfully aging in place.
>
> Personally, I am excited about fostering the development of some
> alternatives to existing Portland aging options, and want to explore what
> is happening in the rest of the country and Canada as regards cohousing and
> other alternatives. I love the concept of being able to share supportive
> caregivers and other resources, and dream of a senior community nestled
> alongside a multi-generational community. We'll also consider the "cottage
> cluster" a newer type of development that many municipalities in our area
> are now allowing, which may be a more flexible and hospitable approach to
> building communities.
>
> Want to know more? or be added to the list for a future group?
> I look forward to hearing from you.
> Please email lauriesonnenfeld [at] gmail.com, or phone or text 503-750-1630.
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