Intentional Community
Envision a place where the conditions for social connectedness are considered as integral to healing as the structures that offer solitude, safety and privacy.
“Relationships are more important than roofs.”
–Dewayne Parker, Envision Community Leader
Our Shared Purpose
Our Shared Values
Our values represent the character of Envision. They are seen and felt at Envision every day.
Autonomy
We honor each other’s autonomy through transparency, flexibility, and choice.
Trust
We must earn trust from each other rather than expecting it to be readily given.
Letting Go
We seek to release what is no longer needed to make room for health, purpose, and community.
Open to Learning
We respect each person as a teacher from whom we want to learn.
Shared Responsibility
We share responsibility for cultivating this community.
Social Change
We see ourselves as part of a broader movement towards health and housing equity.
Our Shared Values
Our values represent the character of Envision. They are seen and felt at Envision every day.
Autonomy
We honor each other’s autonomy through transparency, flexibility, and choice.
Trust
We must earn trust from each other rather than expecting it to be readily given.
Letting Go
We seek to release what is no longer needed to make room for health, purpose, and community.
Open to Learning
We respect each person as a teacher from whom we want to learn.
Shared Responsibility
We share responsibility for cultivating this community.
Social Change
We see ourselves as part of a broader movement towards health and housing equity.
How did we create these shared values?
Envision’s are built upon the beauty, strength, and resiliency of the community of people who experience homelessness. Over 100 people experiencing homelessness helped create Envision’s shared values. Click on this link to read more about the research that uncovered these shared values.
Operating Envision
Envision’s operating handbook is an overview, manual, and manifesto for our new type of community named “Envision.” This handbook is the output of shared meals and working sessions with a diverse team of potential residents and housing experts. Since it is a living document, we look forward to ongoing contributions and improvements. We encourage you to read our operating handbook in detail to learn about how Envision will run:
Governance Structure
Too often in traditional supportive housing, we see decisions come from the nonprofit or agency running the program. This “top down,” status quo approach creates an inequitable “provider” and “client” dynamic. Envision Community does not have clients, nor a top or a bottom—each member of the community is empowered to participate in self-governance and come to decisions on equal footing.
Engaging the Broader Community
Envision’s intentional community does not just happen within its walls. Broad community engagement is also an important part of intentional community. To become a valued asset of the broader neighborhood and surrounding community, residents of Envision will look for opportunities to expand participation in and familiarity with Envision. This may include inviting neighbors to Envision events and community meals, participating in a neighborhood watch association, and establishing relationships with the local police. The neighborhood and surrounding community will be safer and more beautiful because of Envision Community.
Tasks Unlimited: Collaborative Member
Management by Tasks Unlimited gives Envision the support and expertise to pursue its innovative plan for self-governance and self-management. Tasks Unlimited contributes 50 years of valuable experience operating supportive communities similar to Envision – communities that are self-governed and utilize other residents as important sources of support. Tasks Unlimited has been providing housing, employment and mental health services to individuals with serious and persistent mental illness (SPMI) grounded in the Fairweather Lodge Model. Tasks Unlimited’s housing options include 23 houses which are stable, supportive homes where small groups of clients live. These homes are affordable, interdependent living settings, operated by the tenants, with limited assistance from staff. Residents support each other in maintaining their health and stability, providing accountability in taking medications, being on time for work, and successfully controlling symptoms. In addition to housing, Tasks Unlimited provides a full range of mental health, chemical health, supported employment, and job placement services to support stability and independence.
In March 2020, the Tasks Unlimited Board of Directors voted to become the managing entity for the Envision Community Project. Currently, Tasks Unlimited is structured as a consolidated group of five subsidiary non-profit organizations which represent major programmatic functions (i.e. mental health, housing, supportive employment enterprise, and intensive residential program) and our management/administrative function. The Tasks Unlimited Board of Directors approved the creation of a separate subsidiary for Envision which is in progress.
Sustainable Operations
Operating costs at Envision will be sustainable based on reasonable rent paid by residents. All residents will pay monthly rent. We anticipate that many residents will pay rent through subsidies that they should easily qualify for (such as, Housing Support), while others will have sources of income through employment. To assist residents seeking employment, job placement and supported employment services will be available for Envision residents through Tasks Unlimited.
At this time, we cannot know how much rent will be at Envision. Major development costs such as the price of land are still unknown. Also, since we have not as yet acquired land, we cannot know the number of people who will live at Envision which determines how many people can share the fixed costs of the community (taxes, heating the common house, etc).