What: Senior Cohousing: Aging Successfully Training workshop with the experts
Where: Neveda City, California
When: October 7 – 11, 2013
Sponsored by McCamant & Durrett Architects and founders of the Cohousing Movement in the U.S.
http://www.cohousingco.com/?
Dear Friends,
As many of you know, we have a senior housing crisis in this country.
Those of you living at cohousing communities were lucky enough to figure it out and move into a state-of-the-art community. But otherwise, too many good seniors are living in single family houses that they raised their fdoamily in, but aren’t fit for a successful aging life nor a sustainable future. Too many are sent off to assisted living. A recent national study contends that 40% of the seniors in assisted care are prematurely institutionalized. That’s what happens when you don’t live in a supportive community- you have to be somewhere in case you need someone. Americans drove 5 billion miles last year just in taking meals to seniors at home or nurses on the go providing services.
Instead of sitting on one of their front porches discussing the issues of the day or playing a game of Scrabble with their neighbors, the average senior in America watches 6.25 hours of TV per day. That’s a lot of humanity left on the table. But there are seniors who want to be part of the solution- not the problem. A senior at Wolf Creek Lodge Cohousing tells me that he went from purchasing 5-6 tanks of gas per month to less than one per month after he moved into cohousing, and no miles were driven to take meals to any of the 20 seniors living in our community. I’m highly motivated to be a part of the solution as well.
Some of you might remember that we do a workshop every year or two that helps seniors get out of denial and get proactive about their options. Two years ago we had 3 participants from Canada, 3 from Japan and one from Scotland, and about 15 from the U.S. Theoretically, these good folks will go back to their own town to start their own cohousing community. In reality, a couple will, but most won’t. I’m hoping that at least they will consider buying into cohousing, because every time I drive down a street, I think about how many seniors are behind closed doors watching TV when there are homes available in a number of existing cohousing projects that people can just buy and move into immediately and enjoy the profound sense of community that’s already built there.
Maybe social advocacy isn’t the moneymaking venture that it used to be, but this yearly effort is more of an investment on my part in ‘walking the talk’ than anything else. Unfortunately, I’ve lost lots of money each year doing this seemingly silly thing – an important effort non-the-less.
People have proven, over and over again, that living in cohousing is much less expensive that the alternative options. This workshop pays for itself many times over per year by living in cohousing.
People staying in their homes is expensive and wasteful. Having people institutionalized is expensive and distasteful. The challenge to seniors interested in community is to be a little proactive and entrepreneurial. The default, staying at home waiting to be institutionalized, is the proverbial frog in the pot of warm water.
The greatest risk of all for seniors is to do nothing at all. Aging Successfully 2013 trains you to help seniors get out of denial and get proactive about their options. This year the syllabus will expand to include topics related to how to “get senior cohousing moving in North America.” I think that you would really enjoy the conversation.
This 5-day workshop will bring together professionals involved in cohousing and senior living including: sustainability, finances, policy leaders, builders, developers, community organizers, researchers, medical professionals, social advocates, and others interested in facilitating future workshops with seniors to help them discover the realities and possibilities of aging in place with cohousing.
The cohousing concept honors seniors, and offers its residents community, security, and a healthy lifestyle that enables them to successfully age in place.
There are folks coming from around North America who are motivated to look at the big picture, as well as the specifics of budgets and other details involved in getting their specific projects moving forward.
This is the most comprehensive training available in North America to help seniors plan for successful aging and create new senior cohousing. Five days of hands-on learning with the world’s premiere experts in creating cohousing.
Chuck Durrett Architect that pioneered the first cohousing communities in the U.S. after studying cohousing communities in Denmark. Fifteen years later, Chuck returned to Denmark to study senior cohousing and wrote the first edition of Senior Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Independent Living – The Handbook (2nd edition, 2009). Chuck has been a tireless advocate for cohousing in the past 25 years and has designed or consulted on over 50 cohousing communities in North America and beyond (www.cohousingco.com). Chuck, and his wife and partner Katie, live in Nevada City Cohousing, California.
Jim Leach Developer of innovative housing since 1965 and is president of Wonderland Hill Development Company (www.whdc.com), the largest developer of cohousing in the U.S. Since 1990, Jim has developed 18 cohousing communities, including Silver Sage, one of the first senior communities in the U.S. Jim is known for his commitment and creativity in putting together the business end of each development. Jim and his wife Brownie live in Silver Sage Cohousing.
Katie McCamant Founding principal of two firms, McCamant & Durrett Architects, which she founded with her husband and partner Chuck Durrett, and CoHousing Partners, a real estate development company specializing in creating sustainable communities. In her 20 years of experience, she has acted as project manager and developer for cohousing groups, developing eight communities in Northern California, and consulting on dozens of others. She is currently developing Wolf Creek Lodge in Grass Valley, a cohousing community for active adults. She has lived in cohousing for 17 years, and currently resides at Nevada City Cohousing.
Come join us for Aging Successfully 2013 this October 7-11, 2013, in Nevada City, California. Train yourself to be a trainer; you can be instrumental in creating the vibrant small town community life that today’s seniors truly want – right now!
Please refer to the included files for workshop details and additional information. Feel free to share this information with your friends, family, and network. If you or them need help or have questions you can give me a call (530) 265-9980 [Mon-Fri, 8:30-5:00 pm PST ]. Please, also, let me know if there is anyone else that you’d like to see there.
Lets together reinvent community,
Nick will also be offering a one-day Effective Groups Train the Trainer workshop on October 7. Train the Trainer workshops are intended for people who already have training and facilitation skills who want to deepen their understanding of the material and use it to train other Transition Initiatives and social change organizations. Participants in the Monday workshop must attend the weekend workshop and meet criteria which demonstrate they are already experienced group facilitators and trainers.
