Familiar with Cohousing?
Do you have a group forming? or is your group stalled?
This three part workshop series (one night/week) turns the focus from the business of forming a cohousing group to strategies and tactics for community building and why it matters. Examine what you want out of cohousing and how it can change your lives.
It’s easy to focus on policies and the technical stuff. Our focus will be on how to build your community’s culture, creating a cohesive group that can make big decisions with trust and confidence while having fun.
Week 1
How does building community, build cohousing?
September 14th, 7 – 9pm EST (4 -6pm PST)
Week 2
What makes a great Neighbour and neighbourhood, and why does it matter
September 21st, 7 – 9pmEST (4 -6pm PST)
Week 3
Can you co-buy, or co-live, in cohousing
September 28th, 7 – 9pmEST (4 -6pm PST)
Who is this for?
- People who are cohousing familiar
- Groups starting to form
- Groups in process
- Households looking for creative ways to make cohousing possible
Moderated by Alexandria Levitt and Kristopher Stevens
Guest Speakers from the Cohousing & CoLiving World
How does building community, build cohousing?
Date: September 14th, 7 – 9pm EST (4 -6pm PST)
What you will learn:
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How to explore and address your fears regarding community building and living in community
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The technical (skills, policies, etc.), cultural (knowledge, beliefs, customs, etc.) and marketing/communications priorities every community needs to take into consideration
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How to map out what you have, and what you need, to build community
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Strategies and tactics for bonding, education and orientation
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Technical and marketing tips and tricks
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Recommended next steps once you know where you are
- Alexandria Levitt (Levitt CoHo) & Kristopher Stevens (Cohousing Options Canada).
- Cate de Vreede (Treehouse Village Ecohousing, Founding Member)
- Jerry Koch-Gonzalez (Sociocracy for All, Program Director; Pioneer Valley Cohousing, Founding Member & Resident)
- Shelly Parks (CoVision Consulting, Founder; Skagit Cohousing, Founding Member & soon to be Resident)
Guest Speakers
What makes a great Neighbour and neighbourhood, and why does it matter?
Date: September 21st, 7 – 9pm EST (4 -6pm PST)
What you will learn:
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Why your childhood, college….or if you’re lucky, adult, neighbourhood and home matter and can help guide you and your community
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The underlying principles of high functioning communities, neighbourhoods, households and homes
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Hard, but important conversations, and ways to make them easier (and more positively impactful)
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Strategies, tactics and tools and why they matter….and don’t
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Real life stories, challenges and solutions from a member of Eastern North America’s first cohousing community
Moderators:
- Alexandria Levitt (Levitt CoHo) & Kristopher Stevens (Cohousing Options Canada)
Guest Speaker
- Dyan Wiley (Pioneer Valley Cohousing, Founding Member)
- Alan Carpenter (Windsong Cohousing, Founding Member & Resident, Canadian Cohousing Network, Founder & Director)
Guest Speakers
Can you co-buy, or co-live, in cohousing?
Date: September 28th, 7 – 9pm EST (4 -6pm PST)
What you will learn:
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Differences between co-buying, coliving and cohousing
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Key considerations for co-buying/coliving
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How coliving can work within a cohousing community
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How to co-buy a unit in cohousing
Moderators:
- Alexandria Levitt (Levitt CoHo) & Kristopher Stevens (Cohousing Options Canada)
- Guest Speaker
- Leslie Gaynor (GoCo Solutions, Founder; Forest Hill Real Estate Inc., Sales Representative)
- Alan O’Hashi (Silver Sage Village Cohousing, Member)
Guest Speakers
State-Of-The-Art Cohousing: Lessons Learned from Quimper Village
Participants will receive a copy of the book State of the Art Cohousing by Alexandria Levitt and Charles Durrett, Digital copy of GoCo Solutions Co-Ownership Guidebook, a set of Cohousing Options Canada 8 postcards summarizing cohousing & a Community Building Checklist.
About Alexandria
Alexandria Levitt is a gerontologist, specializing in Community Engagement and Strategic Partnerships around Senior Cohousing. She wants to develop housing for people that doesn’t just show off a “lifestyle” imagined by corporate developers but one that reinforces the qualities that help us most as we get older – friendship, community and purpose, as initially created in Denmark.
As a gerontologist (USC, MS, 2011), Alexandria is very familiar with the many challenges facing us as we get older and the remarkable connection between health (both mental and physical) and social engagement. Alexandria leads workshops on “Aging & Thriving with Cohousing” and informational presentations on Senior Cohousing in the area. Her goal is to move the needle in the direction of cost effective, appealing, environmentally-friendly housing that can be home for all active, engaged adults.
Alexandria is a member of the Senior Citizen Commision of South Pasadena, California and President of the nonprofit SAGE Senior Cohousing Advocates.
What is Levitt Cohousing?
Levitt Cohousing works with developers and groups looking to create Senior Cohousing in Southern California. Levitt Coho also provides informational sessions on Cohousing and workshops to learn more about aging and thriving in our communities.
Headed by Alexandria Levitt, their role is to serve as a liaison between Cohousing communities and developers in order to facilitate the successful completion of Senior Cohousing Communities in Southern California.
About Kristopher
Kristopher is a community builder focused on advancing a more sustainable future for his son, family, friends and the people of Canada. He is an experienced leader and advisor in the field of sustainability with more than 15 years experience. Kristopher specializes in developing and implementing strategies that bring together commercial, public, indigenous and community partners to create individual, social, economic and ecological value.
Highlights from his career include: spurring seniors community living through alternatives to living alone and in institutions, serving seven years as the Executive Director of the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association, initiating Ontario’s successful Green Energy and Economy Act campaign, recruiting executives for Fortune 500 multinationals in Asia and researching economic reform in Africa and the sensitive topic of social friction in Ontario’s electricity sector.
