Housing Associations and Cooperatives

HOUSING ASSOCIATIONS AND COOPERATIVES

Individuals involved directly or indirectly in human services are joining with other community members to develop or influence housing associations and cooperatives to include people with disabilities.

Housing associations are non-profit organizations which finance and provide assistance with housing, may develop long term management support services to cooperatives, and create long-term stability of housing options. Housing associations use a variety of strategies to increase the availability of low and moderate income housing. They make homes available to people who ordinarily could not obtain them through conventional channels.

Cooperatives are communities where members own their own homes but share resources and support. Cooperatives may be formed or supported by a housing association. While generic cooperatives that include people with disabilities are a recent phenomenon in the United States, Canadian cooperatives have more experience in this area. For example, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, cooperative communities provide not just the housing assistance people need, but also neighbor to neighbor relationships to support people with disabilities and their families (President's Committee on Mental Retardation, 1995). Generic cooperatives are one means of developing supported community living alternatives for people with disabilities.

Human service organizations in the United States are just beginning to recognize the potential for integration through collaboration with housing organizations and cooperatives. In particular, development of housing through associations (instead of facility development by agencies) enables people with disabilities to continue to live in their home even if their relationship with the service providing agency changes. Though there may be many, this section lists the few organizations which we know to have experience in including people with disabilities.

I. ORGANIZATIONS: HOUSING ASSOCIATIONS AND COOPERATIVES

The Center for Cooperative Housing
1614 King Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 684-3185
FAX (703) 549-5204

The Center for Cooperative Housing is a subsidiary of the National Association of Housing Cooperatives. Its purpose is to provide technical assistance to community-based groups, resident associations, non-profit organizations, and government agencies in their efforts to develop housing cooperatives for low and moderate income people. It "serves as a national clearinghouse for those interested in creating housing cooperatives," linking "interested resident and sponsor groups and property owners who are interested in selling their properties to existing residents with service providers capable of offering...legal, organizational, marketing and training services."

Coop Initiatives, Inc.
999 Asylum Avenue, Suite #508
Hartford, CT 06105
(203) 724-4940

Coop Initiatives is a non-profit housing developer which creates permanently affordable housing in suburban communities in Connecticut. It's mission is to develop affordable housing for families with low-to-moderate incomes and to pioneer in the creative of new independent living options for people with disabilities. In addition to developing cooperatives, the organization assists people with disabilities in planning and obtaining the support they will need to live in homes of their own.

Perry Housing Association
Box 78
Shawnee, OH 43782
(614) 394-1171
Contact: John Winnenberg or Sandra Landis

This housing association, serving Perry County, Ohio, attempts to make homes available to people who cannot ordinarily afford to rent or own homes. The association seeks no-interest or low- interest loans and purchases homes that can be rented or sold to people who cannot obtain homes through conventional means. The housing association originally involved approximately 15 people from all walks of life. It is run by its members who are either looking for or purchasing homes through the assistance of the organization. The association works with Residential, Inc., a residential support service agency, in order to provide opportunities for people with disabilities to secure housing outside of the human service system, in an integrative setting.

The National Association of Housing Cooperatives
1614 King Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-549-5201

This is a non-profit national federation of housing coops, including professional organizations and individuals. The purpose of the organization is to promote the interests of cooperative housing communities. The association produces a bi-monthly newsletter as well as an annual journal. It also offers training workshops which provide technical assistance on how to develop a cooperative. A variety of materials and information on cooperative housing and its development are available for a nominal fee.

Prairie Housing Cooperative
100-113 Market Avenue
Winnipeg, MB R3B 0P5
CANADA
(204) 943-3392

Contact:
Dawn Gair
c/o Murdoch Management, Inc.
757 Henderson Highway
Winnipeg, MB R2K 2K7
CANADA Prairie Housing Cooperative, established in 1982, is a non- profit housing association which is operated by people with disabilities and non-disabled individuals throughout Winnipeg. The cooperative has established several "clusters" of houses in which non-disabled neighbors and housemates offer practical support to members with disabilities. Some in-home paid supports are also provided through other agencies. Some funding for the cooperative comes from housing subsidies provided through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (equivalent to Housing and Urban Development in the United States) and Manitoba Housing (Provincial Government).

More details about this cooperative and its relationship to L'Avenir, a separate cooperative providing supports to people with disabilities, are included in the resource article "People caring about people" described at the end of this section.

The Reservoir Cooperative
Madison Mutual Housing Association
200 North Blount Street
Madison, WI 53703
608-255-6642

(Excerpted from information produced by the Housing and Technical Assistance Project)

This non-profit venture was developed by community members who represented people with disabilities and a housing developer. Residents of the cooperative are also part owners of the development. The cooperative apartment complex was designed to meet the needs of different types of people and the concept was conceived with the goal of creating an integrated and multi- generational living environment.

Financing for the project included local community development agencies throughout the City of Madison, tax-exempt bond financing, and funds from the Madison Mutual Housing Association. Through support from Options in Community Living, a private, non-profit residential support agency, people with disabilities receive necessary services in their homes.

Since residents are members of the cooperative but do not solely own the units, they can still use housing assistance payments such as Section 8 certificates.

NABORS, Inc. (Neighbours Allied for Better Opportunities in Residential Support)
2 Carlton Street, Suite 1001
Toronto, ON M5B 1J3
CANADA

NABORS is a non-profit organization incorporated in 1984 in Toronto. It is an organization which is committed to assisting up to 12 individuals with disabilities to live as valued and contributing members of two housing cooperatives--Courtyard Housing Cooperative and CHORD Housing Cooperative. Both coop communities are committed to the creating of welcoming, inclusive, supportive communities representing people of various ages, income levels, abilities, and cultural origins. NABORS will work in conjunction with CHORD and Courtyard coops to create a supportive community.

II. RESOURCE MATERIALS: HOUSING ASSOCIATIONS AND COOPERATIVES

TITLE: Innovation in the way people with disabilities can be supported to live and participate in community life

AUTHOR: Chernets, G.

PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1995

In L. Nadel & D. Rosenthal (Eds.), Down syndrome: Living and learning in the community (pp. 256-262). New York: Wiley-Liss, Inc.

This chapter, written by a parent of three daughters, two of whom have disability labels, describes the development of two housing cooperatives and a support organization which works in conjunction with cooperatives to support members with disabilities.

The coops--Courtyard and CHORD--are committed to the creating of welcoming, inclusive, supportive communities representing people of various ages, income levels, abilities, and cultural origins. The support organization, NABORS, works in conjunction with the coop communities. In addition to describing the philosophy and organizational structure of the coops and NABORS, the author discusses some of the experience of her daughter, Kerrie, within the coop.

TITLE: Introduction to cooperative housing

AUTHOR: Page, S.

PUBLICATION INFORMATION: updated 1991

Coop Initiatives, Inc.
999 Asylum Avenue, Suite #508
Hartford, CT 06105
(203) 724-4940
203-523-0890

COST: There will be a minor charge for postage and copying.

This article is a brief and easy introduction to understanding cooperative housing in the United States. The article points out the potential that coop members have to build a strong sense of community and support. While functioning as a business corporation, the whole concept of the coop is based on involvement of the members. Though there is an elected board to manage day-to- day operations, membership involvement is highly encouraged and training programs are offered to members regularly.

The reader is provided a range of information about ways to establish cooperative housing, such as constructing new buildings, rehabilitating and purchasing existing structures, or leasing a building and having the cooperative manage that building. Examples of both coops and funding possibilities in places such as Connecticut, Massachusetts and Wisconsin offer the reader some concrete examples of how such projects have managed to find success.

Also addressed is the creation of mutual housing associations, which ensure that the return on capital investment of original projects is used to develop future housing options and provide long-term stability. This is another avenue that has been taken by groups of people, organizations and governmental bodies interested in housing development for low and moderate income people or to develop long term management support services to several independent coops. This article clarifies basic questions about establishing cooperatives as well as pointing out their many benefits.

TITLE: The impact of coop housing on quality of life, community participation and use of natural supports

AUTHOR: Espinola, D.

PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1993

National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR)
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, S.W.
Washington, DC 20202

This is a short, final report to NIDRR on a series of three studies whose aim was to determine the benefits of cooperative housing for people with significant disabilities. The objectives of the study were, respectively:

To determine whether people with significant disabilities who live in coops achieve a better quality of life, more community involvement and use of natural supports than people with disabilities who live in other types of housing.
To compare the quality of life and level of community involvement for people with disabilities who live in coops with that of their non-disabled neighbors.
To determine how well the Coop Initiatives model meets the housing needs of people with signficiant physical disabilities.

The results of the studies indicated that the coop model does have potential for significantly improving the quality of life of people with disabilities. Some of the implications noted by the author are:

That "...people with disabilities should have the same housing options as those without disabilities."
That "...more should be done to offer affordable coop housing to people with significant disabilities as an alternative to...less satisfying housing options."
And that "...the federal government and...states should be encouraged to prioritize affordable housing funds for coops."

TITLE: People caring about people: The Prairie Housing Cooperative

AUTHOR: Kappel, B., & Wetherow, D.

PUBLICATION INFORMATION: Entourage, 1(4), Autumn 1986.

Available from:

The Canadian Association for Community Living
Kinsmen Building, 4700 Keele Street
Downsview, ON M3J 1P3
CANADA
(416) 661-9611 This article describes the Prairie Housing Cooperative which in 1986, owned an eight-story apartment building with approximately 30 apartments as well as several clusters of homes across the City of Winnipeg. The cooperative includes a small number of people with disabilities living with non-disabled people. Locations were chosen close to other family members, employment opportunities, church connections and friends. In each of the five neighborhoods, the cooperative purchased clusters of two to four neighboring houses or apartment units with no more than two people with disabilities living in a home.

The Prairie Housing Cooperative has restricted itself to providing housing and supports for members with mental handicaps. Since all coops in Canada have a designated purpose (i.e., low income, young families), housing is separated from paid services to insure the service relationship does not affect the security of the person's housing.

The cooperative was developed in response to one man's need to leave the institution. A group of people got together and arranged for housing and support for him, which over time resulted in the cooperative. Funding was procured from the Canadian Housing and Mortgages Corporation (CHMC) through its social housing program (which subsidizes mortgages for coop homes by providing low interest loans). The Manitoba Department of Cooperative Development helped establish the structure of the cooperative and the regional office of CHMC helped purchase the first 18 units.

TITLE: Publications list

AUTHOR: National Association of Housing Cooperatives

PUBLICATION INFORMATION: updated regularly

National Association of Housing Cooperatives
1614 King Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-549-5201

For a nominal fee, this organization offers a publications list that covers every area of cooperative development, ranging from general information in various media, the structure and workings of the Board of Directors, cooperative membership, operating and maintaining housing cooperatives, developing cooperatives, samples of coop documents and forms, and other housing reference materials.

TITLE: Madison Mutual Housing Association and Cooperative: "People and housing building communities"

AUTHOR: Racino, J. A.

PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1993

In J. A. Racino, P. Walker, S. O'Connor, & S. J. Taylor (Eds.), Housing, support, and community: Choices and strategies for adults with disabilities (pp. 253-280). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.

This chapter provides a description of the Madison Mutual Housing Association (MHA) and MHA Cooperative. The MHA develops affordable housing for a diverse group, including people with developmental disabilities, which the Cooperative manages housing. The first part of the chapter describes how the organizations operate including stories of people involved. The second part uses the experiences of organizations to draw out lessons for the disability field as it moves toward collaboration with general housing options. Included are principles for creating housing options and issues regarding the relationship between housing and support.

TITLE: Community sponsorship of housing cooperatives

AUTHOR: Wilcox, R.

PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1987

National Association of Housing Cooperatives
1614 King Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-549-5201

COST: $5.00 This booklet discusses advantages and disadvantages of housing cooperatives, what community sponsors can expect from a cooperative, types of housing cooperatives in the United States, and information on how to start a cooperative. The booklet also discusses mutual housing associations (MHA) which are not used extensively in the United States, but may be in the future.

A MHA is housing produced, owned and operated by a not-for- profit, public interest organization where those who develop the housing and those who will live in it join together in membership. The MHA is the umbrella organization that then can sponsor single and multifamily non-profit cooperatives, condominiums and rental housing. The booklet is brief and offers a good overview of some basic questions related to housing cooperatives.