Adequate housing is a huge issue for many people. Single parents, seniors, those living on social security, disabled people and young people starting out, are not typically well supported when living in single-person/single-family households. Single-family living stretches budgets and responsibilities. Doubling up with others households frays nerves and relationships. There is a better way: housing that [...]
As people gather month after month, they will find others with whom they feel comfortable and alliances will naturally form. As people get to know each other, housing coaches will facilitate the process by spotting potential mismatches and other pitfalls.
Starting from the premise that our single-household orientation–single family, single parent, single person–is not an ideal model for our most vulnerable populations, New Community Vision is promoting alternative housing arrangements such as cooperatives, cohousing, home sharing and even dormitory housing as viable options for consideration. Plan to Crack our Housing Crisis describes this more fully. [...]
That no long term emergency housing exists for people between the ages of 50 and 55 is just one reason why I wrack my brain to come up with alternatives to prevent housing strain from becoming a crisis. The Families & Housing page explains this in broad strokes. Our three primary models—single family homes, single [...]
I’ve looked and looked. Maybe it’s out there and I just haven’t seen it. Where is the short term housing that we desperately need? The safe, affordable, possibly short term, housing that gives people a breather. The number of people standing at the precipice of homelessness, and falling into it, numbs my mind! A lot [...]
Posted in Blog on Apr 22nd, 2010
A group of people walk the talk by combining their activist ideals with conscious living in intentional communities. The Chicago Network of Intentional Communities (NIC) gathered for a delicious potluck recently and to discuss the process to become a community member. Having considerable experience, the panel shared their wisdom on how they evaluate prospective housemates. [...]
Posted in Blog on Feb 15th, 2010
The posts about house sharing generated considerable interest and several people have commented privately about Bungalow with a shared kitchen – a true story. They were puzzled over how the arrangement could actually work. House sharing has the potential to be a wonderful and enriching experience of support and true caring. It also has the [...]
Two shared housing co-ops both used the word “joy” to describe their households. That should tell you something.
I often write about communities gathering monthly to brainstorm for solutions, particularly housing, that can lead to easier lives. A reader responded to Bungalow with a shared kitchen – a true story asking: I’m interested in the formal aspects of relationships among house-sharers. If one person is a homeowner, does a landlord/tenant relationship exist? Are [...]
An odd twist of circumstances led me to live for two months in a bungalow where I shared a kitchen with two other housing units. A Punjabi Indian couple, completing their residencies at local hospitals, lived on the first floor with their beautiful eight-month-old daughter. An engineer lived in the basement apartment, a refugee from [...]