[Mpls] Co-Housing Issue

[Gregory Luce]

Bill Kahn wrote:

  Hey, they're just ideas. Please don't label me some sort of bigot for 
having them; it is all that I ask. I think Minneapolis needs a whole lot
more ideas to kick around. That's what were all here for, right? Regards
and leotards, 

[Greg Luce]

I do appreciate the ideas and want to make sure that my prior post on
this issue was in no way meant to paint Mr. Kahn as a 'bigot.'  I simply
jumped on an implication from his initial post that crime/drugs/etc. are
somehow typical with section 8 tenants, and they are not.

That said, co-housing would be a great idea for some, terrible for
others. Potentially great for Somali tenants and their extended family
relationships--same goes for some Latino families.  Terrible for tenants
who just don't have it together--those tenants need something else
before trying to engage in co-housing.  In other words, housing won't
fix a family or personal dynamic that is inevitably destructive--it may
alleviate the destructive tendencies a bit or for a short time, but
until the underlying problem is addressed (addiction, mental illness,
depression, etc.), housing alone won't do the trick. 

Supportive housing of the kind proposed and/or being implemented by
Collaborative Village Initiative or Lydia House are good models to help
with these issues.

So, thanks for the ideas, Bill--they are appreciated.  And I apologize
if you believe I was personalizing the posts and implying you were a
bigot.

Gregory Luce
St. Paul