Models for Community Living from Israel and Sweden

by Dora Raymaker · 2009-05-18 16:00:00 UTC
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a 4 wide x 3 high grid of square photos, all of stone relief images set into stone bricks. from top to bottom and left to right: an abstract swirly shape in a circle, a peace symbol, a bicycle, a circle which contains a circle of forearms and hands--each hand holds the wrist of the arm to the left of it so the circle is linked in unity, a treble clef, two hands linked together, visible from the forearm, two hands holding an empty bowl, a sheaf of wheat, a sun and moon, an intricate abstract gate-work pattern, a double helix as DNA, the heads side of a U.S. pennyIn Israel, a former kibbutz becomes a successful community for people with disabilities.

A new model for treating the mentally disabled based on the Israeli commune idea has emerged over the last decade from the ruins of a crumbling kibbutz. Called Kishorit, the village in northern Israel has become a utopia for about 150 people with varying degrees of mental handicap, who have all found a home for life.

Some have autism, Asperger's, or schizophrenia, but as much as they can, they are all steering their own careers, social time, family life, and destiny. They don't focus on what disability they have, but on what they can do.

In Sweden, the Independent Living model has been adopted. How independent living began in Sweden notes both historical successes and questions for the future.

...After massive lobbying STIL received funding... The money was used to organise personal assistance through a cooperative for a limited amount of time. STIL's purpose was to show that personal assistance based on a direct payment system is cheaper and produces higher quality than the residential homes provided by local authorities.

The pilot cooperative was a success and after further lobbying the project was accepted as a permanent programme in 1989.

Whether the solution is inspired by the past like the former Kibbutz, or inspired by modern culture like an Independent Living program, these models for community living from around the world give ideas and hope for a more inclusive and self-determined future.

Dora Raymaker
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