Cohousing-L Mailing List: Experiences with/as disabled people in cohousing

[Allison Tom (allison.tom]

Hello all,

I am working with a group of others from forming cohousing communities in the 
Vancouver, BC, area. We are planning to host a session about disability in 
cohousing at the upcoming Canadian Cohousing Conference.

I met today with the others in this panel. Turns out we all have experience 
with disability in some form, but none of us has yet lived in cohousing.  

The four of us have all run across attitudes ranging from caution to hostility 
from experienced cohousers when we’ve talked about wanting to be sure 
“inclusivity” includes disabled people.  I think we need to learn more about 
what lies behind this apprehension.  

I would love to hear from anyone who is willing to talk to me about experiences 
that have given rise to this caution, as well as experiences that might counter 
the caution. Please feel free to reply on or off list. I won’t repeat any 
stories without specific permission.

Thank you,

Allison Tom
Allison.tom [at] telus.net