Page 8 - Communities Respond to COVID-19

Kids still interact/mingle but not inside, outside only.

Currently we are discouraging visitors and/or new members. By the time of our next meeting it will have
been long enough since the State relaxed the stay at home guidelines to know if it has had a significant
impact on the spread of the virus...so that may change soon.

Unnamed Co-operative housing project, Michigan, USA

Each house is isolating as a group (4 people and 7 people). We can leave to go food shopping, walking,
or for outdoor socially distanced meetings. No outside folks are invited into the house. Food is wiped.
Handles are wiped daily.

Pacific Gardens Cohousing Community, Nanaimo, B.C. Canada

Generally, really well. We held emergency meetings as soon as the B.C. government announced the
COVID-19 restrictions, first, using social distancing, and then, via Zoom. We followed the Jamaica Plains
Cohousing model as our guide in setting up protocols, moving through stages one through six as the
crisis worsened. We have two nurses living here who gave us good advice on disinfecting, social
distancing, and other information we needed to keep our vulnerable community members safe. We set
a schedule for disinfecting all the touch-points in our building - door handles, light switches, entry
phone, mailbox, elevator buttons, etc. - and established a buddy system so that all the residents had
someone they could call on for help if needed. We set up a buddy family system so that the children
could play together and still maintain the protocols. We let families with children who had to work from
home use some of the common rooms as their work-space, with the condition that they had to maintain
and disinfect them after every use. There were tensions. Some people were critical of the efforts of
others, and accused them of "not taking this seriously." One of our facilitators worked with them to
explore their concerns and see if a solution could be found. We are fortunate in that we live on a large
property - 4.37 hectares - and the weather was absolutely gorgeous, so people could get outside as our
provincial health officer advised for walks, exercise, and gardening without violating social distancing
rules. We also have experienced, well-trained facilitators who guided us through these difficult times
with good humour and grace. We started out in an atmosphere of fear and anxiety, but as time passed,
we adjusted. I feel incredibly fortunate to be living in such a supportive community during this kind of
social upheaval. It bodes well for the future.

Kathryn-Jane Hazel
Creekside Commons, BC, Canada

We have closed our common house to owners and outsiders, practicing physical distancing when we
meet outside. Have installed a portable toilet for contractors doing maintenance, holding meetings by
Zoom or in carefully distanced spaces outside

Pam Munroe

Heart Land, California, USA

We are so happy to be here in the oak woods with artesian spring one hour east of San Diego. An online
map shows no coronavirus cases in our zip code at this time. I go shopping once every three weeks. The