Google clip art

Title: Housing Mixer – second Mondays

Location: United Church of Rogers Park, 1545 W Morse Ave, Chicago, IL 60626

Description: Free Event with light snacks 

Do you miss work (and income) if your child is ill?

Is your retirement nest egg losing ground?

If your family isn’t able to back you up, who does?

Millions of people have moved in with family members or friends-a good short term solution the face of this economic catastrophe. Creating a new household with people that you like may be a better long-term solution. Living with others is moreaffordable, and potentially way more fun, than going it alone.

Four elements can make this a joy rather than a sentence.

People - the chemistry must work. Housemates who like and respect each other enough to create a harmonious, functional household is a good start.

Place - the physical dwelling must be large enough for each person to have inviolable privacy.

Equality - all adults must be equal, either all renters or co-owners. A landlord/tenant mindset isn’t great for the long term.

Commitment -housemates who commit to working out difficulties stand a good shot at achieving not just harmony but also joy. Life is short. Why settle for anything less?

Attend a New Community Vision housing mixer, facilitated gatherings to consider alternative housing options such as home sharing, cohousing, dormitory housing and cooperative housing. Participants also explore the upside and the downside of living with others.

As people mix month after month, affinity groups will form and may wish to set up households. New Community Vision will refer aspiring households to experts for guidance.

· Technical experts know the legal and financial side know what financing is available.

· Group dynamics experts to screen, evaluate, match and coach for effective living.

Start Time: 6:30 pm

Date: 2012-02-13
End Time: 8:30 pm

Photo: Randy L Rasmussen, The Oregonian

Occupy Wall Street is a game changer. The old guard–Congress, and the lobbyists who pull their  strings–reminds me of the old guy in Jurassic Park who neglected to control the weather. Although the big money appears to own the levers of government, they haven’t corralled the spirit of democracy and are as out of step with the times as the British Red Coats who marched in formation to fight American Revolutionaries hiding in bushes.

This video of the movement’s 2-month anniversary illustrates the brilliant strategy, and groundswell support that assures our victory. This guide to group dynamics in general assemblies shows the rigorous discipline of democracy and commitment to civility that our Congress would not recognize.

We are laying the foundation for the new world that is unfolding before us. “Buy local” has become a mantra and questioning where food came from, how were animals treated, and what is in our food is becoming mainstream. These changes are the result of the tireless work of many. John Robbins’ book, Food Revolution is a highly readable eye-0pener. He neatly lays out the connection between cancer and the food that we eat, including who owns the rights to the breast cancer campaign. What a surprise, the people who benefit from cancer treatment are the very ones who own the campaign. Who would have thunk? The  movie Food, Inc. superbly documents our corrupt food chain and how it got that way.

I received the news that Martha Coakley, the Massachusetts attorney general, filed a suit against the five largest banks, and MERS, the electronic mortgage record keeper, for fraudulent foreclosure practices, like a transfusion of hope. The banks, negotiating with all fifty states, had hoped for a modest settlement and a cursory review of their criminal wrong doing. The lawsuit requires much deeper scrutiny of the records.

The concerted effort to undermine voting rights is well under way with 38 states passing voter suppression laws. The Brave New Foundation is on the case as this video, We Will Stand: Defending Voting Rights, shows. It is puzzling why the Federal Election Commission seems to be asleep while the safeguards for a fair election are being undermined at the state and county level. Eric Holder, the US attorney general finally addressed the issue in a speech this week.

As Stalin put it: The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything. If we’ve learned anything, I hope that the importance of voting in free and fair elections is among them.

We are finally awake and pushing back in a big way. It’s hard to say how long it will take to return this country to its people but there will be no “mission accomplished” until the playing field is level enough to ensure that everyone has food in their children’s bellies and their own, everyone who wants it has a roof over their head, and everyone has a fair shot at an education and at getting ahead in life.  We have a long way to go but we are definitely making progress.

Photo: Stock Exchange/Who's Turn is It?

She’d had it with people on food stamps and public aid!  Those people have lived that way for generations and she thinks they have it pretty good. She works hard. Why should her taxes go to help them? People who have done well financially should be rewarded, not punished by higher taxes.

I was hiking and camping with a convivial group of women, ranging in age from 50 to 80, and this was our first day. Judging by her friends, my guess is that this is a blind spot and. other than this, she is a kind, interesting person. Surely she, and everyone on that trip, is a member of the 99%, and would be unaffected by a tax increase on incomes exceeding $250,000. I tried to explain that poverty is a complex problem but, sensing that her views were hardened, and the friendly nature of the group, I didn’t invite rancor by trying to get her to see the flaw in her analysis and the logic of mine.

After a delicious dinner and a pleasant evening around the campfire, she packed up her stuff to take to her campsite about 40 feet away. Saying that she couldn’t carry everything, she asked for help, which I happily gave. She didn’t catch the irony: unable to carry everything on her own, she needed a bit of help, a leg up so to speak.

We bleed poor neighborhoods of every kind of resource–safe, affordable housing, good schools,  nourishing food and jobs–and then punish them for being poor. We don’t provide the building blocks so that they can create productive lives but we are quick to condemn them for being poor and lazy.

Poverty and despair toss a net of hopelessness over a person, a family or even an entire neighborhood. Bolstering families and supporting programs that improve education are two ideas that can help to turn the tide toward stability and a brighter future.

The surest way to break the cycle of poverty is education and catching children early casts the die for achievement. Supporting schools so that they can deliver the ticket to success in life is smart and a good investment in human capital. Not enough schools meet this standard. Head Start, and Early Head Start, do a terrific job of getting children, and their parents, ready for kindergarten so that they show up ready to learn. These programs pay for themselves many times over.

Once children are in school, a solid reading foundation is the building block that sets the stage for everything else. Reading in Motion, a not-for-profit program operating in inner-city schools, uses the arts to teach reading to children in the first through the third grades. RIM achieves impressive results. One study showed that 75 percent of kindergartners achieved grade-level reading compared with a mere 17 percent at a comparable, but non-RIM participating, Chicago Public School. (Disclosure: Karl Androes, the executive director who founded RIM with two other artists 28 years ago, is a friend.)

Bolstering families and communities is the work of New Community Vision. Many people don’t have nearby families, church affiliation or responsive neighborhoods to lean on for encouragement and support. Creating stronger, more resilient communities is a worthwhile undertaking. Facilitated, monthly community mixers provide the occasion for people to meet, mingle, socialize and brainstorm for solutions that can improve their lives. Facilitated housing mixers are gatherings where people can explore a broad range of housing options that may be more appropriate and satisfying for various life stages, whether that is just starting out or winding down.

The social and economic problems that are tearing the fabric of our culture require new approaches. Bolstering families and neighborhoods and making sure that children have solid reading skills are good places to start.

If you are in Chicago and want to explore your housing options in a wider context, join us for the housing mixers at the United Church of Rogers Park on the second Monday of the month.

Google clip art

Title: Housing Mixer – 2nd Mondays

Location: United Church of Rogers Park, 1545 W Morse Ave, Chicago, IL 60626

Description:                          FREE!!

Is living with your parents getting old?

Is the welcome mat a little thin?

No $$$ to strike out on your own?

Millions of people have moved in with family members or friends-a good short term solution. Creating a new household with people that you like may be a better long-term solution. Living with others is more affordable, and potentially much more fun, than going it alone.

Four elements can make this a joy rather than a sentence.

People - The chemistry must work. Housemates who like and respect each other enough to create a harmonious, functional household is a good start.

Place - The physical dwelling must be large enough for each person to have inviolable privacy.

Equality - All adults must be equal, either all renters or co-owners. A landlord/tenant mindset isn’t great for the long term.

Commitment – Housemates who commit to working out difficulties stand a good shot at achieving not just harmony but also joy. Life is short. Why settle for anything less?

Attend a New Community Vision housing mixer, which is a facilitated gathering to consider alternative housing options such as home sharing, cohousing, dormitory housing and cooperative housing. Participants can explore the upside and the downside of living with others.

As people mix month after month, affinity groups will form and may wish to set up households. New Community Vision can refer aspiring households to experts for guidance.

· Technical experts know the legal aspects and financial considerations.

· Group dynamics experts who can screen, evaluate, match and coach for effective living.

Start Time: 6:30 pm
Date: 2011-12-12
End Time: 8:30 pm

Google clip art

Title: Housing Mixer – 2nd Mondays

Location: United Church of Rogers Park, 1545 W Morse Ave, Chicago, IL 60626

Description:

Is living with your parents getting old?

Is the welcome mat a little thin?

No $$$ to strike out on your own?

Millions of people have moved in with family members or friends-a good short term solution. Creating a new household with people that you like may be a better long-term solution. Living with others is moreaffordable, and potentially way more fun, than going it alone.

Four elements can make this a joy rather than a sentence.

People - the chemistry must work. Housemates who like and respect each other enough to create a harmonious, functional household is a good start.

Place - the physical dwelling must be large enough for each person to have inviolable privacy.

Equality - all adults must be equal, either all renters or co-owners. A landlord/tenant mindset isn’t great for the long term.

Commitment -housemates who commit to working out difficulties stand a good shot at achieving not just harmony but also joy. Life is short. Why settle for anything less?

Attend a New Community Vision housing mixer, facilitated gatherings to consider alternative housing options such as home sharing, cohousing, dormitory housing and cooperative housing. Participants also explore the upside and the downside of living with others.

As people mix month after month, affinity groups will form and may wish to set up households. New Community Vision will refer aspiring households to experts for guidance.

· Technical experts know the legal and financial side know what financing is available.

· Group dynamics experts to screen, evaluate, match and coach for effective living.

Start Time: 6:30 pm

Date: 2012-06-11
End Time: 8:30 pm

Google clip art

Title: Housing Mixer – 2nd Mondays

Location: United Church of Rogers Park, 1545 W Morse Ave, Chicago, IL 60626

Description:

Is living with your parents getting old?

Is the welcome mat a little thin?

No $$$ to strike out on your own?

Millions of people have moved in with family members or friends-a good short term solution. Creating a new household with people that you like may be a better long-term solution. Living with others is moreaffordable, and potentially way more fun, than going it alone.

Four elements can make this a joy rather than a sentence.

People - the chemistry must work. Housemates who like and respect each other enough to create a harmonious, functional household is a good start.

Place - the physical dwelling must be large enough for each person to have inviolable privacy.

Equality - all adults must be equal, either all renters or co-owners. A landlord/tenant mindset isn’t great for the long term.

Commitment -housemates who commit to working out difficulties stand a good shot at achieving not just harmony but also joy. Life is short. Why settle for anything less?

Attend a New Community Vision housing mixer, facilitated gatherings to consider alternative housing options such as home sharing, cohousing, dormitory housing and cooperative housing. Participants also explore the upside and the downside of living with others.

As people mix month after month, affinity groups will form and may wish to set up households. New Community Vision will refer aspiring households to experts for guidance.

· Technical experts know the legal and financial side know what financing is available.

· Group dynamics experts to screen, evaluate, match and coach for effective living.

Start Time: 6:30 pm

Date: 2012-05-14
End Time: 8:30 pm

Google clip art

Title: Housing Mixer – 2nd Mondays

Location: United Church of Rogers Park, 1545 W Morse Ave, Chicago, IL 60626

Description:

Is living with your parents getting old?

Is the welcome mat a little thin?

No $$$ to strike out on your own?

Millions of people have moved in with family members or friends-a good short term solution. Creating a new household with people that you like may be a better long-term solution. Living with others is moreaffordable, and potentially way more fun, than going it alone.

Four elements can make this a joy rather than a sentence.

People - the chemistry must work. Housemates who like and respect each other enough to create a harmonious, functional household is a good start.

Place - the physical dwelling must be large enough for each person to have inviolable privacy.

Equality - all adults must be equal, either all renters or co-owners. A landlord/tenant mindset isn’t great for the long term.

Commitment -housemates who commit to working out difficulties stand a good shot at achieving not just harmony but also joy. Life is short. Why settle for anything less?

Attend a New Community Vision housing mixer, facilitated gatherings to consider alternative housing options such as home sharing, cohousing, dormitory housing and cooperative housing. Participants also explore the upside and the downside of living with others.

As people mix month after month, affinity groups will form and may wish to set up households. New Community Vision will refer aspiring households to experts for guidance.

· Technical experts know the legal and financial side know what financing is available.

· Group dynamics experts to screen, evaluate, match and coach for effective living.

Start Time: 6:30 pm

Date: 2012-04-09
End Time: 8:30 pm

Google clip art

Title: Housing Mixer – 2nd Mondays

Location: United Church of Rogers Park, 1545 W Morse Ave, Chicago, IL 60626

Description:

Is living with your parents getting old?

Is the welcome mat a little thin?

No $$$ to strike out on your own?

Millions of people have moved in with family members or friends-a good short term solution. Creating a new household with people that you like may be a better long-term solution. Living with others is moreaffordable, and potentially way more fun, than going it alone.

Four elements can make this a joy rather than a sentence.

People - the chemistry must work. Housemates who like and respect each other enough to create a harmonious, functional household is a good start.

Place - the physical dwelling must be large enough for each person to have inviolable privacy.

Equality - all adults must be equal, either all renters or co-owners. A landlord/tenant mindset isn’t great for the long term.

Commitment -housemates who commit to working out difficulties stand a good shot at achieving not just harmony but also joy. Life is short. Why settle for anything less?

Attend a New Community Vision housing mixer, facilitated gatherings to consider alternative housing options such as home sharing, cohousing, dormitory housing and cooperative housing. Participants also explore the upside and the downside of living with others.

As people mix month after month, affinity groups will form and may wish to set up households. New Community Vision will refer aspiring households to experts for guidance.

· Technical experts know the legal and financial side know what financing is available.

· Group dynamics experts to screen, evaluate, match and coach for effective living.

Start Time: 6:30 pm

Date: 2012-03-12
End Time: 8:30 pm

House with picket fence (Google)

Title: Housing Mixer – 2nd Mondays

Location: United Church of Rogers Park, 1545 W Morse Ave, Chicago, IL 60626

Description:

Is living with your parents getting old?

Is the welcome mat a little thin?

No $$$ to strike out on your own?

Millions of people have moved in with family members or friends-a good short term solution. Creating a new household with people that you like may be a better long-term solution. Living with others is more affordable, and potentially way more fun, than going it alone.

Four elements can make this a joy rather than a sentence.

People - the chemistry must work. Housemates who like and respect each other enough to create a harmonious, functional household is a good start.

Place - the physical dwelling must be large enough for each person to have inviolable privacy.

Equality - all adults must be equal, either all renters or co-owners. A landlord/tenant mindset isn’t great for the long term.

Commitment -housemates who commit to working out difficulties stand a good shot at achieving not just harmony but also joy. Life is short. Why settle for anything less?

Attend a New Community Vision housing mixer, facilitated gatherings to consider alternative housing options such as home sharing, cohousing, dormitory housing and cooperative housing. Participants also explore the upside and the downside of living with others.

As people mix month after month, affinity groups will form and may wish to set up households. New Community Vision will refer aspiring households to experts for guidance.

· Technical experts know the legal and financial side know what financing is available.

· Group dynamics experts to screen, evaluate, match and coach for effective living.

Start Time: 6:30 pm Date: 2012-01-09 End Time: 8:30 pm

Photo: Stock Exchange/Urban Poverty

The scrawny old gimpy black guy hustling for change in the intersection with his Dunkin’ Donuts cup  last night  in the cold jolted my awareness, yet again, that we will look back on this era as the second dark age. Seeing suffering diminishes us, whether it is our fellow human beings or animals. It is pervasive and we are steeped in it.

We are on the cusp of a break through and, when we finally pierce the veil of corruption, ignorance and fear, nothing will be the same. Surely our perception of money will be turned on its head.

Our thinking is limited and impoverished because we measure life in currency. The bizarre, tragic disconnect is that millions of people need housing while millions of foreclosed homes sit vacant. The real estate market is frozen by fear, a lack of liquidity, and an inability to imagine any other economic model.

Once we get past the mind set that something only has value if it can be bought or sold, a new world opens up, as Dmitry Orlov explains in this interesting video. Regrettably, many people don’t pursue their passion because they can’t get paid for it. Integrating the gift economy into our mix broadens our horizon.

Instead of millions of people and trillions in assets sitting idle, in a more equitable system, people will give their gifts and receive payment in ways that are far more life giving and profoundly satisfying than currency. Native American Indians  puzzled at the concept of property ownership altogether.

Only when the last tree has died, the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize that we cannot eat money.                                                                                                                                                                      Cree saying

Only humans could waste as wantonly as we do. Constrained by concepts of ownership and liability, we are impoverished in what could truly be Eden. Walking past empty lots with weeds growing through concrete, while people are hungry and some think McDonald’s is “food” shows how out of sync we are as a society. If property owners could get a tax break, a liability waiver, and a promise to vacate if a property is sold, urban gardening with raised beds and composted soil would be an infinitely more productive use of an empty lot. How much land fill space is filled with food and yard waste that could have become nutrient rich soil? My highly uneducated guess is that a mere ten percent of compostable material is returned to the earth while our soils continue to become leached of nutrients.

In this inspiring video, Lynne Twist, one of the founders of  FourYears.Go, the worldwide call to save our planet, explains that a mere 200 people, empowered by the printing press, spawned the Renaissance. Imagine that – 200 people! Today, millions of us, empowered by the Internet, are spawning a new Renaissance.

The Occupy Wall Street movement is gaining ground and continues to grow to over 1,000 cities in the US and over 150 cities world wide.  So much corruption–college athletics, professional sports, religion, politics of course, but even medicine!–is exposed every day.

Although we can’t see it from here because it doesn’t yet exist, I imagine a vibrant society that transcends money. Maybe John Lennon was right, just way ahead of his time.