Itineraries Summer 2012 | Partnerships In Aging

Community — Live It!

Contents:

CBS Came and Filmed My Community! by Gaya Erlandson

Living in Champlain Valley Cohousing by Debbie Ramsdell

Embracing Elders and Living Well by Gaya Erlandson and Paul Kervick

Five Innovative Community Concepts by Gaya Erlandson

Books of Interest: The Abundant Community, a review by Gaya Erlandson

From the Editor, Gaya Erlandson…

What is living in community like? This section explores that question, focusing on people and how their lives are enhanced by the experience of community. We start with my recounting of the day “CBS Came and Filmed My Community!” (The article includes a link to the 3½-minute news segment which the network aired about our own version of the The Golden Girls. Though short, the segment does capture some of the fun we often have living at Lotus Lodge!) The article tells what the whole experience was like and the tremendous response it generated from women around the country.

A story from a resident of the Champlain Valley Cohousing Community in Vermont is followed by an updated report on Living Well Care Home Center in Bristol, Vermont. Living Well is the first continuing-care facility to successfully — and profitably — provide affordable, holistic services. At Living Well, success is measured in the improved health, happiness, and engagement of the residents; and their success has made their model one that is being carefully studied and replicated. Very inspiring! We need many more homes like this!

In the article which follows I profile five interesting and unique communities and community concepts that welcome elders and that will stretch your thinking about what is possible. I close with a book review of The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods by John McKnight and Peter Block — a short book that is a must read.

The whole community movement is about transformation — at the community level — and we can do it by building homes next to folks with whom we think we have more in common, or by connecting with existing neighbors. The benefit to all ages and stages of life is well documented. What I know is that transformation happens in conversation — new conversations about new possible futures. And it is the conversations we have in relationships that matter. We live in very transformational times, both as individuals in the second half of life and as a global community. It truly is time to act locally together, and I believe we have the tools and inspiring models with which to work.

CBS Came and Filmed My Community! by Gaya Erlandson

One day late in 2010, producer Jeanine Ibrahim called from NY and asked whether they could film us for a “Golden Girls” segment on their CBS Early Show. They wanted four women, age 45 or over, living together under one roof. While Lotus Lodge, our community of about 9 people has always included men, at the time five of the women living here were in that age range. So four of us said yes!

Initial Interviews

Before the news crew converged on our home from New York and Atlanta, Jeanine called and talked with all four of us, starting with me. “Yes, we are all quite independent, each with our own jobs and schedule, our own bank accounts, our own food, and our own private room, much like ‘The Golden Girls’ TV show.

“No, we’re not a commune, and no, we don’t even eat together much of the time, unless two or more happen to fix their own meal at the same time (3-4 times a week) or we have a potluck (at least once a week). We also garden and go on hikes together, have movie nights, and have many wonderful, rich conversations with lots of laughter. And yes, there’s plenty of privacy!”

While Jeanine was very engaging and listened well, soon into our conversations it was clear to me that CBS wanted to report a certain perspective — one that emphasized the economic advantage of “seniors” living together. I was determined to expand this perspective. Our conversation went something like the following.

“Most of the women moved to Lotus Lodge because they couldn’t afford their own place, right?”

“No, actually, everyone chose to be here primarily because they wanted the social support. This 4400-square-foot-place originally was a single-family home, converted now to a triplex. Everyone rents a private room within one of the apartments and we live some hybrid between being neighbors and family. Together we have very meaningful relationships that we all really value.”

“But is it cheaper to live together than on one’s own?”

“Oh, yes. And every one here chose to live collaboratively — as the preferred choice, even though we each could have afforded to live alone elsewhere. We all really value the comfort of having others around, and we value our relationship with the Earth — we appreciate living a smaller footprint.

“In fact, if we had the funds, we’d design a collaborative home from the ground up, and we’d make the whole site sustainable. Plus, we’d look to inspire a lot of others to live collaboratively — of all ages. I really think this is the beginning of a wave of the future.”

She didn’t seem interested, so I decided to let it go. Every media has its own perspective. In our phone audition, all four of us “Golden Girls” had done our best to share a more personal and philosophical perspective on why we live together. It was time to trust and get ready for the big day.

Emphasis on Relationship

Knowing that we were about to be interviewed for national TV had me much more aware of our interactions, our space, and how we support each other. Things around resident Sherry were particularly relevant.

Sherry had lived here for nearly three years, and just six weeks before the scheduled interview, she had suffered a bad fall while in California and broken her left hip in two places, her femur (upper leg bone), and her left shoulder, and had cracked three ribs on the left side. Sherry’s return home — just three weeks before the filming — involved major adjustments at Lotus Lodge.

First, we needed to move all her things from upstairs and set up a room for her on the main floor. For me, this was done gladly. I remember placing her various art objects and other keepsakes around the room, trying to replicate the arrangement she’d had upstairs. Putting her slippers on the side of her bed and hanging her nightgown and robe nearby made me smile.

On Tuesday, the day Sherry was to arrive, her son Josh came over to do the moving and was surprised to see it all done. I was surprised also that it hadn’t even occurred to me to call this strong 33-year-old to help! Still, he was useful: he installed a special elevated toilet seat and some rails on the tub, and we talked about what special needs Sherry would have.

Julianne, Sherry’s youngest, had flown in from the Caribbean to be with her mother during her the first week back. From all evidence, both women felt much love and healing. After years of difficulty, Sherry told me, she and her daughter now were closer than ever. And Julianne really appreciated the love and support her mother experienced at Lotus Lodge.

After Julianne left, Sherry’s other daughter, Jessica, drove in from Charlotte and stayed for several days. Then her oldest son Jake, also from Charlotte, stayed for a long weekend. By the end of that time, not only was Sherry closer to her kids, they all were in tremendous appreciation of her life and relationships at Lotus Lodge.

Sherry must have mentioned this during her interview on filming day because Jeanine, the director, requested that Josh (the only offspring living close by) come to Lotus Lodge and be interviewed — giving his thoughts about his mother being here.

Action!

The day the filming crew arrived, interviewer Michelle Miller walked in holding her cell phone and looking distraught. One of her kids was ill at school back in New York, and she was trying to make decisions about what to do, who else to call, and how to manage it all from Asheville. I thought, “How perfect. She needs community!”

Throughout the day she screened her calls and answered several that were family related. I didn’t ask for details but felt a deep sympathy for her difficulty. It was one of the countless times I thought to myself, “Why are we so wedded to living so separately in single-family homes? Life could be so much easier and more fun if we all would collaborate more.” Again, I let it go.

Jeanine, Michelle, and the two men of the crew (Darrall who did sound and David the photographer, both from Atlanta) were wonderful and quite good at making us feel comfortable. From the beginning we all laughed together and teased each other. They were so friendly, in fact, that I had to keep reminding myself that what I said might be on national TV and tamping down my irreverent humor.

When it was my turn to be interviewed on camera — I was last — I was nervous; and so, instead of having too much humor, I got too philosophical. Somewhere in the middle of it I stepped on my soapbox and hopefully not on her toes when Michelle asked something like, “So you think that living like this is really beneficial, especially for people as they age and are on limited income, right?”

Recollections of her trying that morning to manage her child’s care from afar via the phone jumped out at me as I launched into a passionate lecture about how families with children need a collaborative lifestyle more than anyone. It went something like the following.

Buying Less, Having More

“It’s not that I think all people should live under one roof in the way that we do at Lotus Lodge,” I said.

“To me, adults living alone or with just a spouse in a single-family home is lonely, and it seems like a lot of work and money to maintain everything. Lawn mowers, sheds, tools, washing machines, vacuums, and many other things that neighbors buy separately can be shared.

“Together we can have high-quality tools and lawn care equipment in a shared shed, or an expansive library — with much less expense. And we can have much more fun doing projects like community gardens together. Living collaboratively, in whatever way that looks, is a way to downsize and live more lightly on the Earth, and still have it all — or even more.”

Michelle inserted, “Especially for seniors, right?”

“Actually, I think it’s even more important to live collaboratively for families with young children. When you have kids, your whole life is about keeping up with the myth of the ‘independent’ single-family home as the ideal, and parents typically are scrambling to get everything done and to make ends meet. It’s exhausting! Many parents today, especially mothers, are taking antidepressants and other drugs to get by. A better way involves more connection, people of all ages contributing to each other. Raising children shouldn’t be so hard!

“Raising and educating our children is perhaps the most important job any society has, yet in the US, it is one with the least financial reward and the most stress — for parents and educators alike. Divorce is high among couples with young families. I believe that two people just aren’t enough, and certainly neither is a single parent.

“We used to have extended families where older children, cousins, aunts and uncles, grandmothers, and grandfathers all were involved in the rearing of the younger ones. If a child became ill, many hands and hearts were glad to contribute. There was a whole group of people who knew, cared about, and taught each child what it is to be a caring, contributing person.

“Without this, look at what’s happening with our kids. Increasingly they are being diagnosed and drugged from kindergarten on. Many don’t see or connect with either of their parents during much of the day, and there aren’t grandparents or other extended family around. Young people need ongoing contact and meaningful connections.

“With so few adults involved in their lives in a long-term, personal way, kids increasingly turn to each other. Bullying and various forms of violence are big problems. Research has shown that both murder and suicide by teens are related to feelings of being unliked, lonely, and bullied for extended periods — including from middle-class, intact families, as the infamous Columbine shootings demonstrated.

“Helen Keller said that she wasn’t ‘human’ until her teacher taught her to communicate and relate with others. In other words, she wasn’t ‘human’ until she had meaningful relationships. We are relational beings, utterly dependent on each other for survival and for our humanity. It is from others that we develop our self-concept, our ideas about what’s possible, and our capacities to love and function in the world. We need to emphasize our relationships much more, starting from birth.”

Contribution and Self-Concept

Michelle added, “Yes, kids should spend less time with their electronics.” If I didn’t have so much compassion for her right then I might have felt a bit exasperated.

“That might help. And it is a shame for a parent to use television and video games as baby sitters. But sometimes there is little choice. She needs time to study her college courses or do other adult things. If there were more adults or older responsible people around — such as teens who contributed meaningfully, and grandparents — she wouldn’t have to choose between her own and her child’s needs. It can be a no-win situation.

“And think about it. For all the times she chooses in favor of her child at her own expense, don’t you think that on some level she resents the child and that the child feels like a burden to her? In situations like that, he is! I believe, at some level, that whole conflicted dynamic gets figured into the child’s deep sense of self-worth — or lack thereof — and it’s well known that many of our youth today have low self-esteem.

“Something that could be done immediately is to expect much more from our children. If they were taught from an early age how to clean and manage the home — to whatever their capacity, including such things as doing their own laundry, meal planning and preparation — everyone would benefit. Expecting kids to contribute at home and in the community isn’t child abuse, it’s establishing a relationship that tells them they are important, that they are wanted and needed, that they make a difference.

“From an early age, children want to help. We all want to make a difference. I think it’s a basic need that is grossly under recognized. Contributing is perhaps the most rewarding way we connect with each other and feel a sense of belonging and worth. But it takes time to teach young children how to sweep the floor well, to set the table, clean the bathroom, care for the dog, water the garden, and make meals.

“Again, we are social, relational beings. We need each other. The more we look to encourage contribution and collaboration from our family members, our communities — including our children and elders — the better for all.”

To help me wrap it up, Michelle commented, “So you see a big change in how everyone lives.”

“Yes! I see a housing revolution! I see our cities of isolated single-family homes becoming caring neighborhood communities where the fences are taken down, people are working together to provide what is needed, and everyone is nurtured and supported at all stages of life. I see new forms of housing where several families share large kitchens, dining areas, sitting rooms, libraries, media rooms, garden and outdoor areas, and yet each person and couple has plenty of private space.

“The difficulty we have in raising our kids, as evidenced by the amount of drugs prescribed to both parents and kids and the resulting difficulties kids are having these days, I believe is a big elephant walking through our collective living rooms. Kids and elders — people of all ages — don’t fit into the box of the single-family home. We need to get out of that box! We need to connect and collaborate within our communities. Our kids, our humanity, and our future depend upon it!”

Next!

At the end of the day, it was almost sad to see the crew go. I would have loved to talk with Michelle more about her parenting situation. It’s amazing how quickly we can feel connected with others!

I realized from it all (again) that my thoughts on community are quite different from most folks — including many of those in the “intentional community” movement. I find it interesting that of all the people CBS could have contacted in the country, they landed at my doorstep here in the Asheville area where many are exploring new options and innovations for better living.

As it turned out, the full day of filming was edited down to a 3.5-minute piece. While it didn’t include any of the complexity or depth of what was discussed or what went into creating our community at Lotus Lodge, they did capture the fun of living here. Several times they captured us laughing uproariously, as you’ll see below.

Women Responded

The CBS segment was aired on Wednesday, March 2, 2011. Even though the Early Show didn’t give our contact information, several women from around the country found us and called saying they were very inspired to consider collaborative living. A few of the women were quite passionate about it.

One talked non-stop for the first 20 minutes, telling me how it was my “destiny” to go out and help women live harmoniously in collaborative homes, or to live more collaboratively with their neighbors, and that I “must” do it! While a few inquired about living here at Lotus Lodge, most were interested in learning how to create some version of the concept in their own abodes.

The whole experience reignited my own passion for collaborative, caring lifestyles — something I have lived, studied, taught classes on, and written about for many years. What I realized is that it was time for me to write my message, my perspective — in all its complexity and, hopefully, with clarity — in my own book. It was time.

Pulling together the material for this issue of Itineraries has helped me become clear about the shape of future projects. My next challenge will be to write a book primarily for people in the second half of life which will focus on creating and maintaining shared households — a “how to” on setting it up, ownership models, membership selection, interview questions, lease agreements, community expectations and preference lists, assisted care, etc. After that I will expound more on community in terms of families with children and women and the feminist movement. The special focus of this next book will be on creating housing cooperatives and competent communities within existing neighborhoods.

Gaya Erlandson is a psychologist, writer, teacher, social architect, and community consultant. Certified in Imago Relationship Therapy, she loves to coach couples, facilitate groups, and offer trainings related to conscious relationships and living the new paradigm. Gaya lives in Lotus Lodge — a shared home near Asheville, NC, which is situated on 2.5 acres of land with a pond, stream, and organic gardens. Lotus Lodge and its community was the subject of a recent news segment on CBS Early Morning — an experience which in part has inspired the project she is now working on, a how-to book on creating and maintaining shared households.

Living in Champlain Valley Cohousing by Debbie Ramsdell

At Champlain Valley Cohousing (CVC), we have a 125-acre parcel of land with wetlands, meadows, brooks, ponds, and woods, most of which is preserved for wildlife corridors and farming. We live on 10 acres of it, roughly shaped in a rectangle, with homes all around a central green: 14 attached units and 12 lots for single-family homes (with five homes already built). There are fruit trees, birdhouses, and gardens in people’s yards, and it is very lovely.

It is easy to look out at the goings-on on the green, where there is a play area (including a pirate ship, a sandbox, and swings), pathways for walkers, picnic tables, and almost always people during the summer.

The other day I looked out and felt such gratitude as I watched different groups of children play and adults interacting, while an older man rode his bike along the periphery. Two of the dads here started a day camp for children (age 4-8) who meet twice a week in the summer. I enjoy watching them having a wonderful time.

Community Engagement

I am a member of the Membership Committee and help to plan activities. We have summer and winter solstice celebrations that include skits, poetry reading, drumming and dancing, a potluck meal, and a bonfire. We also organize hikes up local mountains and have a book group that meets monthly. In the summer we have frequent potlucks, bonfires, and even tents pitched on the green with members of all ages camping out together.

We have pie-baking events. and once a year we join the Charlotte Day Parade in July, wearing our “Cohousing is Happening in Vermont” tee-shirts that have our Web site on the back. We also have workdays once a month that require some organization and last for just three hours on a Saturday morning.

In addition, we have a lot of informal gatherings. Here they just happen. I might have my dinner plate and join someone else with his or hers, or go for a walk on the spur of the moment. There’s always someone to visit with. My young grandchildren love to visit because they have so many friends here.

History

I came here in 2002 when members were still in the planning stages. I had become a widow in 1999, was living alone, and joined CVC wanting a new option. We broke ground in 2005 and at first I was a member or chair of the Marketing and Membership Committee or Circle, as they are called in Dynamic Governance (DG).

I said that, “Yes, the people are great, the land is great, the children are great (I love it that we are intergenerational), the farm is great, the community of Charlotte is great, Vermont is great, but the greatest feature by far is that we govern ourselves by the Dynamic Governance (DG) system.”

I feel that our governing system is the backbone of our community. It is what enabled us to succeed in finding the people and resources needed to successfully create our community, and it continues to provide us with the strength and cohesiveness necessary to make CVC a success today.

Dynamic Governance Structure

DG is a hierarchy of interlinking Circles including the Top or Executive Circle, then the Managing Circle made of all the working circle chairs. Thus, every circle participates in management of the overall community — a major way we are interlinked.

At the next level are all the rest of the circles such as Operations and Maintenance, Marketing (now separate from Membership), Farm and Forest Circle, Design Review Circle, etc. People often are members of more than one circle, and various circles often welcome input from others. An ad hoc task force might include interested people from various circles.

Circle members elect their chair, and the position rotates fairly often. One responsibility of the Circle Chair is to see that an agenda for the next meeting is sent to all members of CVC in a timely manner and that the minutes of the meeting are sent out within 48 hours afterward. Agendas and minutes are distributed to the members by e-mail, and members are expected to keep current.

Circles meet on differing schedules from once a week to once a month, or as needed. For example, the Design Review Circle meets only when a new home is being built or someone wants to change paint colors on their home, or proposes a garden design for their personal property.

One of the side benefits I have observed from the use of DG is the growth that occurs in the individuals who take on leadership roles within the various circles. Everyone has the opportunity to become the leader of a circle, and many of the members participate in various circles at different times, as they see the need or a Circle sees a need for their input and invites them.

Hot Topics

A very appealing aspect of DG is that everyone feels equal in their thoughts and ideas on important issues in the community and that they are listened to; everyone has a chance to voice his or her opinion. If there is not complete consensus on an issue, there is a method of getting past an objection.

This happened once over determining our gun policy. We kept doing rounds, gathering members’ opinions and objections, during which there was a gradual change from the original opinions as everyone heard each other. Eventually a round of “no objection” was achieved.

Consultant John Buck helped with this and encouraged us to consent to a “good-enough” policy, instead of waiting for the perfect one and not decide anything at all. It’s better to have some policy in place, which can be improved upon later.

Last night (July 1, 2010) we had a meeting on another hot topic — determining our dog policy — and it turned out to be one of our best meetings ever. The Membership Circle that I’m in has three members and was responsible, and so we created a Pet Policy Task Force of three people. The Task force prepared by getting the pet policies of other communities and input from our community members. Everyone was welcome to attend, since the issue is a membership-wide concern.

In all, 10 people showed up and we had several reaction, discussion, and clarification rounds, during which everyone’s opinion was heard. The process was surprisingly uncontentious. In less than two hours we passed a policy that everyone was happy with, and they were very happy with how it all went. Amazing!

We Can Work It Out

As you can probably tell, I am very enthusiastic about DG and living here. Based on actual experience, there’s a feeling that problems will work out fine. One of our younger members originally balked at some of the features of our governance process. Now he is one of the strongest advocates and promoters of DG.

As in most groups, there are some members of CVC who participate very little in the community, which is a disappointment to others. However, this involves only one or two individuals, and the rest of us have learned to work around them. We also realize that we can’t be best friends with everyone, but most of us feel a strong common bond in desiring to live in the CVC community, and this binds us together.

I think CVC would be like a ship without a rudder if we didn’t have DG guiding us. Because of DG, I sense that we have fewer meetings than other intentional communities, that we accomplish more during them, and we have more ease in the process.

I think it is an excellent system of running a cohousing community, and I am very thankful to our founder for finding DG and John Buck to lead us through the process. For me, our community is ideal. I honestly can’t think of any place I’d rather live!

Debbie Ramsdell, lived in Charlotte for 46 years and has lived in Champlain Valley Cohousing since 2006. Her daughter and family live in Bristol, VT, a 30-minute drive away, and her son-in-law Simbo (from Guinea, West Africa) leads an African Dance and Drum troupe in which she is a drummer. She also sells old-fashioned wooden clothes drying racks that are made by Simbo: Her son and his wife live in Hawaii.

Embracing Elders and Living Well by Gaya Erlandson and Paul Kervick

From the outside, Living Well Care Home looks like a regular older home in the neighborhood. Even walking in, you’d never know it is a holistic, 15-room, Level III, residential care and assisted living facility.

Located in Bristol, Vermont, Living Well emphasizes organic nutrition, whole life care, and sustainability. They are the first nonprofit healthcare facility in the country to use Dynamic Governance (DG), a style of management based on cocreative input from all levels of the organization — including residents.

And they are receiving national and international recognition.

Within just four years of starting, back in 2004, Living Well received the Governor’s Excellence Award as the state’s Program Champion, recognized as an “extraordinary role model for healthy aging.” Residents of Living Well attended the awards ceremony, held at the Vermont State House, and actually gave a musical performance, with Governor James Douglas drumming along.

In 2009, Dee DeLuca, administrator and co-founder, was honored with the VHCA Administrator of the Year Award. In 2010 they’ve received two awards from the Vermont Department of Vocational Rehabilitation — both the employer of the year award for hiring the disabled and an employee for the accomplishment of obtaining a good job.

How did all this happen?

A Little History

Co-founder Paul Kervick reports, “In 2004 I received a call from Dee DeLuca, a friend and community activist, who was trying to relocate the elders who lived in a residential-care home that, after 20 years, was closing its doors. She wanted to know whether my wife and I would house one of them.” From that discussion, however, emerged the possibility of a community effort to continue running the facility — in a very new way.

“Elders are the story holders and wisdom keepers. I believe they are our county’s greatest underutilized resource. I had an existing 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation and saw a tremendous opportunity. Plus, the timing was right.”

Just prior to this, Paul finished years of work on a much larger project. It was to create a new paradigm sustainable model community within the city of Burlington, Vermont on the campus of a former private college.

The vision included housing for the homeless, ecological renovation of several buildings, organic gardens, green energy, a holistic/integrative medical healthcare center, creative arts performance spaces, and programs involving numerous organizations, both private and nonprofit. “The project went by the wayside but we ended up with a large network of like-minded people and relevant resources.”

Providence

In less than three weeks, Dee — a chief inspiration and investor in Living Well — gathered enough money from a small group of local community members in order to secure a loan from a local bank. The investors set up a real estate company that rented the facility to Living Well and operated under the umbrella of Paul’s nonprofit. “We became the first holistic residential care facility in the State of Vermont.”

It so happened that the International Sustainable Communities Conference was held in the area the following month, and because Paul’s nonprofit was one of the sponsors, his organization was able to offer a presentation.

During the conference, which had 600 attendees, “we described the new project, shared our holistic approach to aging, and had John Buck introduce Dynamic Governance. We did visioning, held Open Space meetings, and gathered many creative ideas.”

Afterward, the Implementing Circle was established using Dynamic Governance principles, and others were invited to participate. Often facilitated by DG consultant John Buck, members met with architects, explored sustainability goals, created a vision, put together a business plan, established a strategic plan and operating protocols, and christened the venture Living Well Community Care Home.

Implementation

Knowing the residents would benefit tremendously from a holistic approach, Paul and Dee were passionate (still are) about the project and thought their ideas would be easy to implement. “What we didn’t realize is that, in addition to asking the staff to change their well-established behaviors, we were asking them to make some major shifts in consciousness. It’s been humbling.”

An important aspect is that it be holistic, starting with the food. Living Well has an arrangement with a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and a food co-op and thus is able to provide organic, healthy meals at a good price.

In addition, they established organic gardens in their backyard to help supply their own food in season. Although people at the Department of Health and Human Services were impressed from the beginning, some of the staff actually reported the facility anonymously for “depriving” residents of their Wonder Bread and candy!

Mysteriously, toxic cleaning products that had been removed would reappear. Finally one worker, who chain-smoked and had the language of a sailor, objected loudly. She claimed that after 30 years, she knew what “clean” was by the smell — of bleach. Paul comments, “They felt they weren’t able to do their job!”

Opportunities to Improve

Perhaps most challenging for staff to learn was the use of DG. They were used to giving or receiving orders, often with harshness, not sitting in circles with all levels of staff and residents making decisions together! The idea that everyone’s input is valued — in other words, that everyone is responsible for the whole — was met in the beginning with great suspicion and even disdain.

The consent process of DG, however, welcomes objections as opportunities to improve. From the comments made by staff, the founders decided to offer them training programs on the importance of healthy food for improved cognitive and physical functioning, and to show how toxic chemicals affect brain cells. Staff also were reassured that they would not be fired if they offered new solutions, as everyone’s ideas are valued when utilizing DG.

In the meantime, art was put on the walls, a feng shui specialist consulted, bright colors added, and often music is heard — either from players or from residents drumming and singing. And while there are plenty of “sweets” such as cakes and cookies on the healthy menu, virtually no refined or artificial sugar is used. The smell of homemade, 7-grain bread often fills the air. Everything possible is purchased locally.

Residents Show Improvements on all Levels

Within six months, many residents evidenced noticeable improvements. One woman who was thought to have severe dementia picked up the phone one day and had a lucid conversation with her family for the first time in years. Another woman, who mostly had sat in her room alone, got up and played the piano. No one knew she had been a piano teacher.

Living Well’s holistic healthcare approach (rather than disease care) involves having a naturopathic doctor visit once a month, and she serves on the Board of Directors. Living Well was the first to apply an Integrative Medical approach to residential and assisted living in Vermont.

Early on, the naturopath indicated that the four residents diagnosed with a particular illness could be treated with a simple herbal tincture that costs $60 for a four-month supply — for all four people. This is compared to the chemical pharmaceutical costing $1000/month — for each.

Before long, all four residents were able to get off of the expensive medication, plus they no longer needed the secondary prescription for the side effects from it. Other residents also started to show visible improvements in the range of motion in their hands, arms, hips, and even better blood pressure. And creativity began to blossom.

Paul comments, “Most residents are much more social and active in general. It’s as if they have come out of a sleep.”

Self-Determination and Contribution

One might think that people with dementia and various physical issues wouldn’t be interested in contributing or able to participate effectively in DG, but they seem to thrive on it. The Resident Circle, for example, meets regularly and actively discusses whatever is important to them — whether it be the menu, how services are provided, what activities they want, or how to measure success.

As a result of DG and their own decision-making, residents participate as desired in the daily routines and house chores, including meal preparation. One resident was leaving the refrigerator door open, however, resulting in food spoiling and energy wasted. This problem was solved when, during a Resident Circle meeting, another resident offered to check the door frequently — especially when that person, her friend, is using it.

The Resident Circle also elects one of their members to represent them in the Staff Circle. This representative checks with all of the elders every month and makes sure s/he understands the issues and concerns to be brought up in the Staff Circle. Resident input and daily participation is a vital part of the community.

Interfacing with the Larger Community

The music making started when some youth came by in 2006 and were allowed to camp in the back yard, in exchange for teaching art and drumming to residents. “We heard that the memory of people with dementia has been shown to improve from drumming. Residents really got into it, even those whose hands initially could barely curve around the edges of a tambourine,” says Paul.

After a few months, residents decided to create a band and began to write their own music; they would sing and chant along with the drumming, and it sounded good! Soon they started getting invitations to perform — including at the 4th of July parade in Bristol — during which they drummed for three hours while riding on a float, and at a recent Body-Mind-Spirit festival as well as other care facilities.

As arranged with a nearby high school, “at risk” youth do their community service hours at Living Well. Some students have maintained these relationships and continue to volunteer, valuing the friendship, support, and wisdom from these elders.

Another activity seen at Living Well is art. Citizens of Bristol can come in and take art classes, and residents have had art exhibits locally. Paul states, “We focus on the beauty and wholeness of people. Our job is to build connections, connections to what each individual’s passion is about, with how to share it, and how the community can support that. Everyone benefits.”

Going With the Flow

After about a year, the workers seemed to settle in with the new ways of doing things, including being part of a decision-making team that operates in transparent, collaborative, and supportive ways. Important innovations have resulted from both staff and residents. The idea that everyone’s input really is valued has been learned experientially, over time.

A turning point in this was when the Management or Staff Circle decided to have the staff determine its own work schedule. Previously a point of contention, the schedule then began to be set up by workers themselves and include swing shifts during busy times making it easier to cover the required 24/7 care. From this, staff attitude toward DG improved tremendously.

A few of the workers did leave due to their own life changes, such as getting married, but none were fired. Interestingly, the new workers that have come to Living Well are more open to the perspective and methods used. Paul reports that they have been much easier to train, in part because the initial staff helps considerably.

Collaborative Coherence

Many people who become Direct Care Workers come into this poor-paying field due to lack of education and challenging life circumstances. “We’re trying to support staff to live healthier — eat better food, exercise, etc., and to be empowered to create better futures.

“We have an arrangement with a local bank, for example, to give workers up to a $1000 loan, after being employed here in good standing for one year. Once the loan is paid off, if desired by the employee, the bank will continue to take out the same amount as the payment was each month, and help him or her apply it to an educational fund or savings account. The bank also helps the employee learn about good financial habits and empowering sound financial health.”

Paul explains, “The buzz word or phrase in the industry is ‘culture change’ but it’s more than that. We need to shift consciousness, to be aligned with universal principals, to move into collaborative coherence rather than ‘power-over’ control. We are a living system within interconnected living systems. We start with the heart and expand out.

“We’re bringing all of this together in a business. Living Well is a vehicle through which we are manifesting these principles and sharing them with others. I’m a midwife. We all are. We’re here giving birth to ourselves, being present and sharing that with our community.”

Economically Sustainable

In 2009, after just five years in operation, the nonprofit Living Well was able to pay off investors and get excellent terms on a new loan from the VT Community Loan Fund and thus purchase the property. Because of this, they are in a better position to get grants for such things as having a community garden, solar and geothermal heat systems, and other renovations. They also have two Direct Sales Marketing businesses, both of which benefit the health of those at Living Well first.

One is Kangen water. Whether many of these machines are sold or not, having one dispensing “living water” to residents and staff is seen as vital to everyone’s health. The other business is Asea, a product that reportedly supplies “redox molecules” to protect, repair, and replace other body cells as needed.

According to Paul, “Redox molecules are what signal the body’s immune system to activate. The problem is that most people in their 50s and 60s, produce just 10-15% of what they did when young. Without this redox communication, there is greatly reduced effectiveness in maintaining health — even with a healthy diet.”

A measurement of financial success is the overall expenses of the facility and resulting affordability for residents. Paul reports, “To be financially sustainable, most assisted care facilities need to have a minimum of 2/3 of the residents be either private pay or have private medical insurance, and the rest can be low income or paid by Medicaid. We have reversed those numbers.”

Earlier this year the Deputy Secretary for Vermont’s Health and Human Services Agency called and spoke with Paul and other state officials for over an hour. Intrigued, he asked to visit the facility. He brought 10 people to Living Well and expressed great praise.

It turns out that the man was a direct care worker himself many years before and, from this visit, he committed to helping Living Well connect with the appropriate University of VT and other state officials so as to get funding and volunteers to do research and document/prove what is happening at the home.

Future Outlook

From their documentation and great success, founders of Living Well have received calls from people from around the country wanting to know what they are doing. Current plans are for Living Well to cooperate (using DG) with two other care facilities who together share resources (garden produce, food co-op membership, healthcare staff, transportation vehicles, etc.).

The idea is to create a cluster of three such facilities in close proximity and thus reduce expenses even more, while increasing the options and quality of care for residents. It is expected that this model will be widely replicated.

Paul says, “We’re really midwifing a new social system’s approach for health and vital aging in community.” While that may seem like a big claim, I believe they actually are doing much more.

Beyond being a residential care facility, Living Well is a demonstration of living the universal principle of oneness — from communicating molecules within cells, to collaboration among staff, residents, and the greater community, to cooperating with nature and benefiting global economics.

From it we can witness the truth of living systems interconnected with all other living systems. And we can experience the truth of a world of abundance, creativity, love, vitality, and mutual support, on all levels. In other words, we experience a shift in consciousness.

I would love to see these practices implemented elsewhere — in other community settings. I can see it transforming community-based business practices, local government, and Transition Town efforts — the grassroots network of communities that are working to build resilience in response to peak oil, climate destruction, and economic instability. We all deserve the benefits of Living Well.

Paul Kervick, MS, is a visionary, social architect, educator, minister, husband, father of four adult children, and has two grandchildren. He is co-founder/Director of Awakening Sanctuary, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)(3) educational and charitable organization and its major program, the Living Well Care Home, in Bristol, Vermont.

Paul left his family business in 1979 to move to Vermont and begin pursuing his love of creating new models of holistic health care and in 1977 cofounded and managed New Beginnings, Inc., the first birthing center in New England. He lives with his wife Julie in Shelburne, Vermont.

Five Innovative Community Concepts by Gaya Erlandson

Paradoxically, a group of humans becomes healing and converting only after its members have learned to stop trying to heal and convert. Community is a safe place precisely because no one is attempting to heal or convert you, to fix you, to change you. Instead, the members accept you as you are. You are free to be you. And being so free, you are free to discard defenses, masks, disguises; free to seek your own psychological and spiritual health; free to become your whole and holy self.

— Scott Peck

In the process of my research into interesting and unique communities that welcome elders, I discovered a very impressive and heartwarming movement — one that addresses the often desperate needs of orphaned children needing adoption or foster care with the commitments of mid-lifers and elders willing to parent and grandparent them in village-like settings. Below you will find brief descriptions of three inspiring communities — Hope Meadows, Treehouse, and Bridge Meadows — that are creatively addressing this challenging social problem.

Next, we profile a more recent movement to build retirement “villages” where virtually every need or desire is met for members. The village concept, pioneered in Beacon Hill Village, allows elders to age in place and is a viable alternative to assisted-living facilities for those who can afford a more upscale, cosmopolitan, and minimum-stress community life.

Then we have a glimpse into a very interesting community that has been in existence since 1966, just 30 minutes outside of New York City. Based on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner, Fellowship Community is a village in the true sense, with several businesses and meaningful work opportunities for young and old alike.

Hope Meadows

A very holistic approach was started in 1994 when Generations of Hope Development Corporation, Inc. established Hope Meadows, an intergenerational neighborhood for families seeking to adopt foster children.

Hope Meadows is a five-block small-town neighborhood where neglected and abused children who have been removed from their biological parents find a permanent and caring home, as well as grandparents, playmates, and an entire neighborhood designed to help them grow up in a secure and nurturing environment. It is a place where three generations care for and learn from each other.

Reinventing Retirement

Hope Meadows seniors, who serve as “honorary grandparents,” agree to volunteer at least six hours per week. In turn they receive reduced rent on spacious three-bedroom apartments. “The seniors are absolutely integral to the healing of these children,” emphasizes Hope Meadows’ founder Brenda Krause Eheart, “and the children provide real meaning and purpose in the daily lives of the seniors.”

Hope Meadows Parents: A Commitment for Life

Hope Meadows adoptive parents go through stringent screening and background checks, including fingerprinting and in-depth interviews. Only 10 per cent of all the applicants from potential parents are accepted. The parents must be licensed by the state and go through rigorous training, and they expect to adopt the children that come to them. Hope Meadows boasts an impressive 90 per cent adoption rate.

Background

Under the leadership of Brenda Krause Eheart and Carolyn Casteel, Hope Meadows has evolved into a neighborhood where all of its residents work to meet one another’s needs. It is the first example of what is now referred to as a Generations of Hope Community or GHC.

A GHC is a geographically contiguous intergenerational neighborhood, where some of the residents are facing a specific challenge around which the entire community organizes (e.g., youth exiting juvenile justice, young mothers re-entering society after incarceration or drug treatment, homeless families).

Intergenerational Community as Intervention

The term Intergenerational Community as Intervention (ICI) refers to the distinctive strategy used in GHCs to facilitate and support naturally emergent alliances, relationships, and enduring commitments across generational lines. In a GHC, professional services become subordinate to the relational support and services — the intervention — provided by the community.

GHC socially challenged residents, however, are not viewed as problems-to-be-managed, but as ordinary people requiring the same embeddedness in family and community that we would want for ourselves. All residents are viewed as if they were members of our own family and decisions made accordingly.

Professional Staff

The expertise of professional staff is considered essential for a wide range of managerial and programmatic functions. Staff practice is considered most effective when characterized by relationship building and “consent” rather than control. There is, however, no mention of the use of Dynamic Governance (yet).

Treehouse Foundation

Treehouse Community began by partnering with Beacon Communities in 2003 in order to build a multigenerational village where people connect daily in meaningful ways, creating a rich tapestry of relationships.

Treehouse opened in June 2006 in Easthampton, MA, and now is an award-winning community located next to the 100-acre Nonotuck Park and near Mt. Tom. Over 100 people ranging in age from 1 year to 90 years live in this innovative intentional village. It is for families who are adopting children from the public foster care system to live with caring neighbors, including elders who act as “honorary grandparents.”

“We experience exceptional community connections at Treehouse. It is demonstrated when elders offer writing workshops to children and adults, sew beautiful quilts for children, take kids to school, offer to be their mentors, teach them how to cook, and host sleepovers. We see it when parents care about each other, cook together, laugh about their life experiences, and support each other through times of learning. It is evident when children engage with their peers and reach out to adults in the neighborhood.”

The design of the neighborhood resembles a traditional village center with walkways, play areas, friendly front porches, and lots of room to run and grow for all ages. There is a Community Center with a library, kitchen, and gathering space/dining hall which acts as a multipurpose room for weekly pot lucks, movie nights, game nights, community activities, and much more.

The Treehouse community offers attractive rental homes, including 48 affordable senior cottages, for individuals over 55 who want to live in a supportive, caring neighborhood. There are 12 rental homes for families, including grandparents raising grandchildren, in two-story 3-, 4-, and 5-bedroom townhouses. Applications for elders and families are always welcome.

Thirty-three market rate homes will be available on Button Road and Treehouse Circle. People of all ages have expressed an interest in owning a home at Treehouse — folks interested in cohousing, people downsizing, former teachers and social workers who want to contribute to the success of this innovative program, foster and adoptive parents who want home equity, and people from all over the country who have heard about Treehouse and want to be a part of this new way of living.

Bridge Meadows

Similar to Hope Meadows and Treehouse Community, Bridge Meadows has the mission of developing and sustaining intergenerational neighborhoods for adoptive families of foster children that promote permanency, community, and caring relationships, while offering safety and meaningful purpose in the daily lives of older adults.

The Bridge Meadows team broke ground on the two-acre site in June 2010 at a groundbreaking ceremony attended by over 200 people. The community will house adoptive parents and elders who want to be surrogate grandparents for foster children who will become adopted. While the whole age spectrum will be served, the focus will be on the those children who often remain in foster care — children 8 years and older or part of sibling groups. The community will also be open to grandparents or aunts and uncles who are raising the children who have been in foster care and now are in need of a loving, permanent home. The community will be rich with services including recreational, educational, and counseling services on site.

Inviting Elders

Elders (55 years and older) who qualify for low-income housing will live in the 27 affordable housing apartments, and adoptive parents will live with the children in the nine family homes. There is a community center, courtyard, play area, library, computer room, and several gardens. A local elementary school and two parks are just two blocks away, and the property is on a bus line.

Executive Director Derenda Schubert reports that she has received a lot of interest. “For over a year,” Schubert says, “I have been receiving calls from the elders…People are really wanting a sense of community.”

We are family

The commitment of families who will become part of the Bridge Meadows community is huge. The obligation is lifelong and collaborative. Each generation will bring inspiration, dedication, and caring to the process. Here, the family begins its journey toward healing the wounds of abandoned childhoods and nurturing the hope of a bright future.

The Beacon Hill Village Model

The “village movement” is taking the country by storm. All across the country residents are creating intentional communities where people (aged 50 and above) who buy into a membership program receive access to a variety of services which allows them to age in their own homes. Currently, 50 Villages are operating across the country, and one has opened in Australia.

The concept was pioneered by Beacon Hill Village, named for the Boston neighborhood where it is located. Founded in 2001, it was created by a group of long-time Beacon Hill residents as an alternative to moving from their houses to retirement or assisted living communities.

Their array of services and benefits is impressive. Concierge service provides almost anything — pets and plants are taken care of, dinner or groceries delivered, gardens weeded, pictures hung, light bulbs changed, furniture rearranged, rides provided, bills paid, rooms painted, or a computer geek, personal trainer, or massage therapist brought to your home, to name a few of the services available.

Health and Wellness

There’s also a fitness center with various classes and walking groups, nutrition information, prescription drug coverage, health and long-term care insurance, Medicare plus supervised home health care professional, walking companions, neighborly visits, medication reminders, and even more extensive geriatric care management. All support residents’ health and wellness.

Program

There are various day trips — to museums, concerts, operas, botanical gardens, and social gatherings. These include private talks and discussions with local notables from the academic, cultural, and political communities.

Fellowship Community

Founded in 1966, Fellowship Community, though it welcomes all ages, is centered around the care of the seniors. About 150 seniors, children, and coworkers live in a rural setting of farm, woods, and orchards about 30 miles northwest of New York City.

Of particular note is that the community is organized according to the teachings of Rudolf Steiner. The architectural design of the community seems to be influenced by sacred geometry, with the central area surrounded by concentric rings of buildings and activities.

I happen to be a fan of sacred geometry and while I have yet to see a thorough description of the design used, I am intrigued. I believe that such geometries are quite beneficial to our well-being on all levels.

Elders in the Center

Hill Top House is the heart of the Fellowship Community — literally in the center. With 34 beds, it is where those needing the most care live. During the day, especially at mid-morning or mid-afternoon at “snack” times, it does not look like a care facility. The place is busy with people of all ages. Those in the facility are taken up in the flow of community activities and are a part of the ongoing life of the community.

The laundry, mail dispensing activity, bathroom, medicine dispensing room, telephone, Snack Foyer, and the Goethe room all are “central.” This brings life and activity into the midst of the most inactive person’s daily life. The basement of Hill Top House has a therapeutic center for massage, therapeutic baths, dentistry, podiatry, and ophthalmology.

All Ages Contribute

There are nine major work areas in the Fellowship including a farm, pottery, weaving workshop, auto maintenance garage, print shop, medical complex, and the administration facilities, etc. What is so important is that most individuals, of all ages and capacities, can be busy in worthwhile and productive activities. Different levels of ability and skill are needed and can be used. The result is that there is something worthwhile for everyone to do.

One of the 99-year-old members made some pottery, for example, which was sold in the gift shop. At the other end of the age spectrum, a young three- or four-year-old may make morning rounds with an older coworker in the care setting, bidding good morning to a “grandmother” or “grandfather,” watering plants, and/or emptying waste baskets.

I believe that teaching youth the skills and discipline to contribute is extremely important. Youth not only learn real-life skills but develop a sense of healthy self-esteem through relationships. As a psychologist, I feel that this connectedness is necessary for proper development. I would love to see more communities incorporate such relevant, experiential, and relational education for all youth.

At Fellowship Community, those who are full-time coworkers are usually in mid-life, but they do not have to be — it all depends upon health, capacity, ability, and the willingness to serve. For the most part, coworkers are encouraged to live in, but the community could not be sustained without help from those who do not live within the confines of the community.

There was no mention of their governance system on the Fellowship Web site. I, of course, would recommend the use of Dynamic Governance were you to build a similar community.

Visitors and Work-A-Longs

Fellowship Community welcomes visitors. Those who come for extended visits — whether individuals or families — have the opportunity to get to know the community through a “work-a-long.” Please contact them for either a tour or stay.

Books of Interest: The Abundant Community, a review by Gaya Erlandson

The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods by John McKnight and Peter Block (San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2010).

This easy-to-read book begins with a fascinating discussion of how consumerism has impacted the family and community and how it is too often applied as a cure for social ills. When service organizations attempt to help make a community safe, for example, they tend to look for what funds, governmental programs, policies, and social services can be secured instead of what existing local resources and social capital can be leveraged.

In addition to turning us into consumers and clients, this process makes us focus on deficits. To get funding, residents of challenged neighborhoods increasingly must define their situation as intractable and themselves as incapable. This becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Although well intended, the providers of such services unwittingly contribute to the very problems they seek to remedy. While acknowledging that much good has come from various social programs, the authors urge new, more sustainable approaches.

People as Problems or People as Assets

Instead of deploying experts who evaluate “stakeholders” according to their deficits and what isn’t working, McKnight has spent years developing what he calls “assets-based community building.” This is where experts find and work with residents who can catalyze engagement of their neighbors based on their strengths or assets. The gifts, talents, wisdom, interests, resources, etc. of individuals are identified and then matched with those of others for mutual benefit. A teenager interested in auto mechanics, for example, can be mentored by one neighbor, while the teenagers teaches a different neighbor computer skills.

In the process, everyone’s value is affirmed. A central premise of a “competent” community and citizen versus consumer approach to community building is that everyone, no matter what age or handicap, has something to contribute. The experts remain in a supportive role as needed, while residents build competence within their community through relevant exchanges, cooperation, and meaningful relationships. Developing relationship skills and collective resourcefulness allows everyone to shift to an attitude of possibility, personal worth, and the reality of abundance.

The properties and capacities are abundant and exist as a potential in everybody. They await a nurturing context in which to be manifested.… the properties and capacities that make up a competent community exist in human nature (p. 68).

In this weak economy where budgets of local governments and nonprofit organizations have been cut, it is especially heartening to read the message and methods for mutual reliance offered in this book. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in community resilience.

The Authors

For nearly three decades, John McKnight has conducted research on social service delivery systems, health policy, community organizations, neighborhood policy, and institutional racism. He currently directs research projects focused on asset-based neighborhood development and methods of community building by incorporating marginalized people. John serves on the Board of Directors of numerous community organizations including the Gamaliel Foundation and The National Training and Information Center and is codirector of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute at Northwestern University.

Peter Block is an author and consultant. His work is about empowerment, stewardship, chosen accountability, and the reconciliation of community. He is the author of Flawless Consulting, Stewardship, The Answer to How Is Yes, and Community: A Structure of Belonging.