Senior Cohousing

Cohousing came to the U.S. 15 years ago from Denmark, where intergenerational communities gave birth to a successful, age-specific cohousing model for active elders. The first elder-only cohousing neighborhoods for active adults, 55 and above, are just now emerging in the U.S. Design features include easy access for all levels of physical ability and also may include optional studio residences in the common house to provide living quarters for home health aides whose services may be shared by several residents.

Charles Durrett

Traditional forms of housing no longer address the needs of many older Americans. Nor are baby-boomers going to accept what our parents had. Most of the current options for “retirement living” are inadequate, both socially and healthwise. Cohousing opens up new alternatives for seniors to take control of the inevitable, to live as independently as possible, as long as possible. Cohousing offers aging adults a way to live among people with whom they share a common bond of age and experience—an entirely new way to house themselves with dignity, independence, safety, mutual concern, and fun.

Ruven Liebhaber, moderator, Robert Cowherd, moderator, David Hornick, Jean Mason, Maura Parente, Vera Prosper, Dana Snyder-Grant, Steven Stadler, Karen Sternfeld

Panelists examine the advantages and challenges of aging-in-place in cohousing drawing upon their own wealth of experience and that of audience participants. Panelists discuss designs that have been successful in supporting the aging-in process as well as designs that have been unsupportive. They will suggest corrective / preventive strategies that have proven successful and analyze interventions that have failed. The goal is to identify and develop take-away strategies that others may utilize for planning new communities as well as retooling existing communities.

Ruven Liebhaber, Greg Olsen, Robert Walters

This session identifies strategies for creating a livable-for-a-lifetime home environment in three parts. First, Ruven Liebhaber presents the tools for formal and informal caregiving within an intentional community. supports within a cohousing complex and He discusses them community supports in terms of the boundaries, whichthat define their implementation in cohousing. Second, Greg Olsen describes an elder care model fully embedded within the structure of existing neighborhoods. And third, Robert Walters describes how advanced home automation technology can support eldercare in private homes. The three strategies are designed to interface with existing housing and community programs to support aging-in-place. They offer important information for designing new cohousing communities as well as for retooling established cohousing communities.

David Hornick, Maura Parente

This session provides information to enable cohousing planners and residents to assure a supportive living environment for people as they age in place in cohousing communities. The main components of the Toolkit are presented in two parts. First, David Hornick discusses the interplay between housing, preventive health, wellness and chronic illness. Second, Maura Parente presents the concepts and features of “universal design.” Universal design extends the accessibility and usability of as much of the environment as possible by as many people as possible and pertains to interior spaces of homes and community rooms as well as landscaping.

Based in Boulder, CO, Abraham Paiss & Associates specializes in helping cohousing groups in the early stages of development through move-in. One division, The Elder Cohousing Network, offers Elder Cohousing Getting Started workshops in Boulder, CO, and can bring these trainings to your local area. Principals Neshama Abraham and Zev Paiss, husband and wife, are both seasoned writers, workshop presenters and spokespersons for the cohousing industry, and have lived in cohousing since 1997. Their consulting services include helping groups in community building, public relations and media coverage, grassroots marketing and membership programs, advertising, and group process trainings for both multi-generational projects and elder cohousing. They have worked with cohousing communities across the U.S. to help connect groups to local developers and build their professional development teams.

303-413-8066

Fred Lanphear

This is an interactive workshop that looks at how communities can intentionally embrace and celebrate the second half of life. It focuses on acknowledging and creatively preparing and caring for the inevitable aging process that happens to us all. It will include: 1) Celebrating the transitions of aging and providing significant roles of engagement, 2) Exploring ways and the extent to which communities can provide care for aging members, 3) Preparing for and participation in final transitions. Some specific topics include realities and fears of getting older, co-care and outside care, and staying healthy through community.

Raines Cohen, facilitator, Susan McWhinney-Morse (panel members TBD)

While we’re debating whether creating aging-friendly communities involves adapting various models like senior cohousing or creating aging-friendly neighborhoods, community groups are moving forward with initiatives to make existing neighborhoods more like cohousing and more supportive of aging-in place, without people having to leave their existing homes. We'll hear from a leader from Beacon Hill Village, the Boston-based model for the movement, a local architect/developer of senior-friendly cohousing, as well as stories about how intergenerational cohousing can support the aging process. We will continue the discussion about how we can support and learn from each other in this growing movement.

Christine Kennedy

Since working on the book Senior Cohousing with Chuck Durrett in 2003, Christine Kennedy has traveled throughout the United States researching and sharing information about elements of cohousing as an option for older adults. This presentation includes an overview of economic and demographic trends, and the senior cohousing movement, and a “virtual tour” of the only three American “dedicated” senior cohousing communities reveals who built what, where, and why. The session culminates in a discussion of the pros and cons of being a senior in multigenerational versus senior cohousing.