COAP
Although Christian is in the name, it is an interdenominational non-profit corporation created in 1983 to help low-income families in Harlan County, Kentucky. The need is great in Harlan for many are living in remnants of coal towns with homes 30-50 years old. COAP's mission is "to help provide safe, warm, and dry housing with low and very-low income residents of Harlan County." To do this COAP constructs new homes and rehabs and repairs existing ones. This relates to when Roseland mentions...
"non-profit and citizen-run organizations can raise awareness of affordable housing needs within the community and can support individuals or families seeking to lower housing costs," (182).
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| The state of some homes |
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| Hanging on Their Front Porch |
A couple times my group had wonderfully gracious home-owners who would come out and talk to us every morning when we got there and bring us cookies and drinks when it was 90 degrees and we were sitting on the roof. Most of the time they were older couples, or in one case, a little old lady who couldn't afford to patch her leaking roof. These people were amazing, and are mainly the reason I came back year after year.
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| Taking a Rest Before Getting Back to Work (I am on the very end) |
And CO-OPs
Roseland defines cooperative housing as an alternative that provides shared facilities, help with childcare, meal preparation, a sense of security, support, and a feeling of security (181). Tenants own their own homes but share responsibilities and participate in planning within their co-op community.
Unfortunately, Roseland mentions that most co-op developments are occupied by more affluent households than low-income families. That seems really weird to me. But fortunately, Bloomington is home to Bloomington Cooperative Living, whose mission is to foster an economically, ecologically, and socially sustainable society and is also a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt provider of low-income housing.
The co-op is founded on the seven Rochdale Co-operative Principles:
- Voluntary and Open Membership
- Democratic Member Control
- Member Economic Participation
- Autonomy and Independence
- Education, Training, and Information
- Cooperation Among Co-operatives
- Concern for Community
Interestingly, Purdue has Cooperative living on campus, but it is kind of like a cross between a sorority/fraternity and a co-op, compared to the one we have in Bloomington. They have 7 houses for women and 5 for men. They have recruitment and they participate in homecoming, but there are no national affiliations like sororities and fraternities and also no housekeepers to clean up after you. I know IU is tight on space, but I think co-op houses are a neat idea on a college campus. You get the bond of cheaply living together with people your age and you get to participate in all that college stuff without actually being tied down to the Greek system.(I was in the IU Greek system, so I can say this).
Of course what does this have to do with sustainability?
It seems odd that we would be talking about affordable housing in this class, but the idea is very simple. It is hard to focus on living a sustainable lifestyle when you cannot even afford a lifestyle at poverty level. Those people in Harlan literally could not afford to put a new roof over their heads, or even to build a wheelchair ramp so they could get in and out of their home. Those kinds of needs take precedent over sustainability needs. The goal then is to make housing affordable so they can spend less money on their house, less time worrying about it, and more time understanding the benefits of a sustainable lifestyle.
This can be related to what we learned in Sustainable Development, called the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), which depicts that as income increases to some turning point, environmental degradation will decrease. Or degradation per capita rises with affluence up to some affluence and then it declines. The basic idea is if we help low-income residents increase their affluence, we can decrease environmental degradation. The reason environmental degradation will decrease is due to a couple reasons: environmental awareness and increase in regulations, rich people invest in cleaner technologies, and rich people have more money to spend on environmental protection.
Whether or not the EKC holds, it is important that we help low-income residents be able to afford their own home. Once they have their own physical home, they can then start to worry about their other home, planet Earth.
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| If this isn't worth being sustainable, I don't know what is |
COAP sounds like a great nonprofit. I have never been on a mission trip of any sort, though I hope to someday. It’s my understanding that IU has a student group called “Youth Advocating Leadership and Learning (Y’ALL)” that does similar work in New Orleans. The group goes down every winter, spring, and summer break. It is definitely worth checking out. The work of COAP and Y’ALL is so positive and hands-on. They both seem like perfect opportunities to build relationships and lend help to those who truly need it.
ReplyDeleteMy good friend knew some kids that lived in the Bloomington Co-op. It is a wonderful establishment, but personally I do not think I could do it. Even though I value community and actually want to pursue a career in promoting local social capital and sustainability, I would feel somewhat claustrophobic. Living alone is just too good! I can get behind the communal meals and chores though. Five hours of chores a week seems like a pretty fair deal considering what you get in return. It’s nice to see that Purdue has a campus-wide effort for co-ops, an alternative to the Greek life. I would think IU would be right on top of something similar…
It is also interesting that when folks think about sustainability, they mainly think natural environment and energy. Although those are two critical factors in sustainability, so is economic and social equity/justice. Means of affordable housing and public amenities are inherently sustainable! As you stated, people need to make a living before they can act sustainably. What’s the point of sustainability if quality of life is worthless? Kudos for including the Kuznets Curve (shout out to Rafi!).
Usually it's a choice between sustainability and affordable housing. Although I'm not familiar with COAP (though it sounds really cool to be a part of such organization), Habitat for Humanity has started to take both dilemmas under their wing. A few years ago, H4H has started renovating their buildings to be LEED certified and now has actually built net-zero energy homes.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.garfieldcleanenergy.org/learn-efficiency-netzero-home.html
Sometimes, all it takes is some good planning and enthused contractors and architects. Why wouldn't H4H build energy efficient homes, especially for those who are already struggling under the current housing market? What would be more attractive in a home than having to pay very little to no energy costs for your house? And like the article said, there's no extra upfront capital costs if good planning is done early on in the process. When we, as a society, begin to recognize that affordable housing CAN also be sustainable and energy efficient, then the issue of having to sacrifice affordable living for green living wouldn't exist.
That must have been an amazing experience for you working with COAP! One of my former coworkers had her house built through Habitat for Humanity. Not only did she learn valuable skills, but building her house gave her a sense of pride and ownership as well. The downside to her situation (other forms of affordable housing) was that her home was built in a dangerous neighborhood on Long Island. It is unfortunate when programs that are supposed to help empower people, and communities drop them right back into the situations they were trying to escape in the first place! That is the paradox with some of these initiatives- what do you do when presented with an opportunity that may help better you in one way, but may make things worse in another?
ReplyDeleteGreat Post! Thanks for sharing your experiences on your mission trip, it seems like a really rewarding adventure, for both the families and the participants involved. I liked your use of that Kuznets curve. While I had never heard of it before, I could definitely see how this idea makes a lot of sense. People need to focus on getting by before they can worry about being sustainable. That is why, personally, I am a huge fan of the CO-OP living arrangement. I think it really is a great opportunity for low-income citizens to break free of government dependence to provide housing. And of course, it also provides that sense of inclusion or community that I think many low-income citizens are lacking. My experiences in a CO-OP have been that they are generally very friendly and open living situations. While this may not be great for some people, I think it could be a great fit for that outgoing individual looking for an affordable and friendly place to live.
ReplyDeleteI also thought that this post was great. On a personal level, I can identify with your trips to Harlan, Kentucky. Growing up, I was involved with Habitat for Humanity in Hartford, Connecticut. In college and during a spring break, I volunteered in a town located in the southwest corner of Virginia--near Harlan. We worked on projects which were similar to those you describe. We also went to church with the residents we helped, which was an experience unto itself. Great insight about the Environmental Kuznets Curve; your application of it was perfect.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree, building a house for Habitat for Humanity is not only an amazing experience of giving back to your community, but a humbling experience. I helped work on four houses at once and it was rewarding to see he family pitch in as well. One important thing I think that would be beneficial if somehow Habitat was able to acquire a contract where all the appliances that are used in the house are high efficiency and eco friendly. Maybe we will start to see it more and more in the future.
ReplyDelete