Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Selecting members

[Martin Schafer (schafer]

> 
> Bob & Ruth wrote:
> 
> In addition, we are wondering if anyone has any words of wisdom on
> what one does when someone joins the group who is inappropriate for
> the group but does not respond to "vibes" telling him/her that fact.
> We have been told that most groups end up being self-selecting, but
> we are concerned about the damage that an inappropriate person can do
> to a group. Ideas on "admission" and "de-admission" would be
> welcomed.
> 

Our process at TRG was that once someone expressed a desire to 
become a full member, they were assigned a mentor who was supposed
to meet with them outside the group, to both give them more 
information about how we did things and to get to know them 
better.  The prospective member was expected to attend for 
several meetings, and then skip a meeting so that the group 
could decide on whether to accept their application.  We made
decisions on the normal consensus basis, and paid particular
attention to what the mentor thought.

Martin