Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Need "Work Group" how-to guidance - help homeless veterans

[Virgil Huston (virgil.huston1955]

I have never actually done this, but there is a model for a couple of
tent cities on the west coast that seem to work and take into account
the realities of many homeless people, including vets. That is that
with homelessness, mental illness and substance abuse are often part
of the equation. Most homeless shelters have draconian rules and
remove all dignity from the process. They alcohol test at shelters
where I live.

The successful model involves self governance and maintenance of the
community by residents. Empowerment of the residents to the extent
possible. Mental health resources, as well as other resources such as
job skills, computer access, etc., should be part of it. No hard and
fast rules on alcohol or drug use. It was found that in these
communities, people tended to self-regulate their usage or stop
altogether. The only thing that gets people kicked out is violence or
disruptive behavior.

Treat the vets like people, not like patients who need to be
controlled every step of the way. I have been around social services
quite a bit and the worst thing about it is the complete
dehumanization of the process for the individuals being helped. No
privacy. It is a very flawed system.

Good luck with your project, as a vet myself, I hope you are
successful. Keep us informed.
Virgil

On Sat, Dec 17, 2016 at 10:23 AM, Joanie Connors <jvcphd [at] gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Wonderful work! Please keep us updated!
>
> Our cohousing group failed, but others here have a goldmine of great
> strategies!
>
> On Sat, Dec 17, 2016 at 8:15 AM, Ty Albright <tmalbright [at] verizon.net> 
> wrote:
>
>>
>> Dear Cohousing Community;
>>
>>
>>
>> Can you email me your community's "how to" guidance for work groups?
>>
>>
>>
>> I'm working with a nonprofit team to develop a tiny house village for
>> homeless veterans in Denton Texas - which will use cohousing-like design
>> and
>> community creation strategies; and one of our goals is to establish some
>> "how to do this" guidance in advance.
>>
>>
>>
>> We would rather build on the work of others than try to figure out all this
>> stuff from scratch.
>>
>>
>>
>> The residents of this village will be responsible to self-manage their
>> community.  We envision the creation of various work groups who will be
>> responsible for different aspects of operating the community (mess hall,
>> grounds, safety & security, conflict resolution, new resident orientation,
>> etc.).
>>
>>
>>
>> It would also be helpful it have "how to live in community" guidance.  We
>> intend to have the community self-govern (with limitations - there is
>> ministry oversight and resources to be made available) but decisions by
>> full
>> consensus may be a bit much given the circumstances - so we are looking for
>> some "Roberts Rules of Order" guidance .. how to conduct a meeting /
>> organize a community .. etc. type instructions.
>>
>>
>>
>> If you have anything you are willing to share - guidance - a power point
>> pitch - a manual - anything for work groups, governance, etc. please email
>> it to me.
>>
>>
>>
>> Thank you.
>>
>>
>>
>> Ty
>>
>> Ty Albright Project Management
>> Little Red Hen LLC
>> 214-336-7952
>>  <mailto:tmalbright [at] verizon.net> tmalbright [at] verizon.net
>>  <http://www.linkedin.com/in/tmalbright> www.linkedin.com/in/tmalbright
>>
>>
>>
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