Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Unoccupied Units & the Effect on Workshare

[Kathleen Lowry (kathleenlowrylpcclmft]

Thanks for your observations, Sharon!

> On Jan 23, 2023, at 6:20 PM, Sharon Villines via Cohousing-L <cohousing-l 
> [at] cohousing.org> wrote:
> 
> 
>> 
>> On Jan 23, 2023, at 3:40 PM, Kathleen Lowry <kathleenlowrylpcclmft [at] 
>> gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Virgil, Thank you for your comment. Yes, at 69 safety in every way becomes 
>> more and more in the forefront of my concerns too. I wonder if there are 
>> such things as senior home care collectives or coops where a group of 
>> seniors could coordinate and share costs for a  combination of  health and 
>> home care, but not sure about the need for socializing and community. 
> 
> The Kendall group of continuing care facilities is resident governed and very 
> inclusive. The problem is that care needed is unique to each person and 
> changes over time — and not in a straight line. Good months and bad months. 
> And not even predictable by age. So it is hard for 2-3 people or even 10 to 
> collaborate on hiring caregivers. 
> 
> A comparable situation in cohousing is getting children to school and back 
> every day. I was surprised that it was not possible for parents to carpool. 
> We had 20 at one point who were taken individually by their parent or 
> caregiver to different daycares, nursery schools, public schools, public 
> charter schools, or private schools. I thought that at least after a few 
> years the parents would coalesce and find common paths but they really 
> couldn’t.
> 
> Each child was in a different grade and at a different school. Schools are 
> not so simple as elementary school and high school. They have odd grades: 
> ages infant to 3, 2 to 5, 3-6, 4-6, pre-k to 5th grade, 6-8th grade, 6-12th 
> grade, 9-12. So it wasn’t easy to coordinate without years of planning. And 
> of course, each school was in a different direction and started at a 
> different time. Once children start attending school children want to stay in 
> the same school. Or the school doesn’t work and they change to a school no 
> one else attends.
> 
> Parents also had a variety of needs. Some were almost rigid about time and 
> others were very relaxed to the point of not knowing what time it was. The 
> schools also had different standards and some didn’t have set arrival times. 
> The difference meant those two households couldn’t comfortably join forces. 
> One household considered commuting to be prime time for serious conversations 
> and wanted to be alone. 
> 
> It’s complicated. There is a reason organizations move toward uniformity. 
> It’s easier when everyone is the same.
> 
> The one thing that can be done for caregiver help is for members of the 
> community to learn about what is available in the larger community. The home 
> nursing programs, adult daycare centers, etc. There are many services.
> 
> Sharon
> ----
> Sharon Villines
> Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
> http://www.takomavillage.org
> 
> 
> 
> 
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