Cohousing-L Mailing List: Sorry if you were offended, here is the point reworded

[Rob Sandelin (floriferous]

People who are crazy can not function well enough to hold jobs, thus will
not qualify for mortgages. In the mid to late 90's I did workshops and
mediations in over 100 intentional communities all around America.  I was
usually called in because the group process had broken down to the point the
community needed outside help to resolve it.  I experienced some very
pathologically mentally ill people who seriously disrupted the communities
they were part of. For example, a man who saw invisible monsters and ran
screaming through a crowd of children swinging a large kitchen knife.  In my
work in 35 cohousing groups I never experienced anything at the same level
of mental illness, in fact almost all cohousing issues revolved around a
lack of understanding or commitment to cooperation.  It was always in
communities with no financial buy in required that had problems with
mentally ill people.  Thus my experience leads me to the opinion that having
to qualify for home ownership via a mortgage with a bank screens out most
seriously mentally ill people, since they are unlikely to have the job
history and income to qualify, and this is a good thing for cohousing.  I
never said, lower income people are mentally ill. If you read that into my
previous email you misinterpreted my point.  

Rob Sandelin