Three people sitting on a garden bench, smiling and talking.

Sarah's Acres

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Forming
  • Ecological
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 2023

What we do

Sarah’s Acres, to be located in Central Virginia, will be the first location using a new aging model for special needs families created by Peace of Mind Community LLC. Currently, housing options are limited, especially for those with high support needs.
As parent caregivers age, living at home becomes less feasible. How do we spend quality time with our child if we need to move into assisted living? We need an aging solution for all of us.

  • We will all need the same kinds of care.
  • We all need community.
  • We all need peace of mind.

While there are many great efforts to house those with support needs, there are still people without options. With thousands of people on the waitlist for housing across the United States, we have an opportunity to make a difference.
Focus on the family
What if the entire model centered around the adult with support needs, including opportunities for quality time with family members? More than just a walk around the block or a shopping outing, but everything from an overnight visit to a summer-long stay? What if some housing was full-time for both the parents and their child, aging with support together?
Higher support levels
If you need one-on-one 24/7 care, your options are limited. Most live at home with their parents as caregivers or nursing care coming into the home. This model “works” for a while, but once the parents are also no longer able to live independently, the choices become limited to their child moving in with siblings, a foster family, or institutional care.
Dependable care
Even at home, care is not ideal. Aging parents plus poor caregiver quality and availability have many parents paralyzed in their lives, unable to give their adult child what they need and also unable to live their lives to their fullest.
Safety
Safety drives many parents’ fears for housing, especially for their female adult children.
*********
Sarah’s Acres was initially inspired by Sarah and her family. Sarah, now 24, was born with Pitt Hopkins syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that has left her unable to walk independently, speak, or use her hands. Sarah is also legally blind.

Our Mission

We dream about a world where all people with special needs and their caregivers have abundant options for living healthy, full lives amongst a supportive community. We plan to offer programs and respite anchored by special needs families living on the property, parents and their children aging together.

  • Purpose
  • Ecological
  • Community type
  • Cohousing
  • Ecovillage
  • Activities
  • Property management
  • Farming
  • Education
  • Experiences
  • Networking

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2023
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 2027
  • Started living together
  • 40 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
40

Primary decision-making authority

  • All Community Members Together

The whole membership decides collectively.

Decision-making process

  • Modified Consensus

Generally seek agreement, but have backup methods when consensus isn’t reached.

Governance structure

  • Collaborative/Horizontal

Power and responsibility are shared relatively equally among members.

Economic model

  • Partial Income-Sharing

Members contribute a percentage of income to community funds.

Economic scenarios for this community

  • There is a one-time fee, investment, or share purchase to join the community separate from accessing housing
  • Members need to pay fees, dues, or similar to live there on a per month or per year basis
  • There is a labor obligation

Additional economic information

Join fee: Yes
Regular fees: Yes
Labor: Encouraged or suggested

Shared resources and amenities that are accessible to everyone in the community

Common House, Garden(s), Greenhouse(s), Library, Workshop, Outbuilding(s), Swimming pond or pool, Large Scale Kitchen, Stage or Auditorium, Fire pit, Swingsets & play areas, Recreational vehicles, Gym or sports area, Internet

Community activities and engagement

  • School, Educational Institute or Experience
  • Volunteer, Internship, or Apprenticeship, or WWOOF’ing
  • Neighborhood, Community Housing, or Homeowner's Association
  • Organization, Resource, or Network
  • WWOOF'ing, Guest Farming

Age demographics

  • Mixed adults (few or no children)

Guest Book

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Location

  • Virginia, United States

Needs and Offers

Offer
  • Communities with Openings
1 month ago

Rooms in Beautiful Location in downtown East Austin

Mountain Laurel House has upcoming room openings on August 1 and September 1 to share our house in central East Austin close to downtown. Rent is $925 per month with $75 to cover your share of the utilities and maintenance. You provide your own food. We enjoy sharing a meal at the dining table at least once a month for fun, to check in on our lives, and talk about housekeeping together. To apply, email do*************@***il.com with subject line Room at Mountain Laurel House. Request the brief application questions and we’ll provide more info and answer your questions. Mountain Laurel House is in a great location! It’s on a green cul de sac, with a wooded lot to the southwest and a green open space to the west. It’s close to the East 11th & Rosewood dining and entertainment district and right across from the Carver Library and a bus stop. We’re in walking distance to downtown Austin, the State Capitol, Huston-Tillotson University and a short bike or bus ride to the University of Texas; and, south or east of here, Lady Bird Lake and Boggy Creek hike and bike trails, park lands, swimming pools, pickleball and basketball courts. I kayak on Town Lake aka Lady Bird Lake or swim just across downtown at Deep Eddy or Barton Springs fresh-water, spring-fed swimming pools. We enjoy sharing a meal at the dining table at least once a month for fun, to check in on our lives, and plan housekeeping together. HEB is a short 5 minute drive east on 7th St. and Whole Foods is about a ten minute walk from here on 5th St. Amenities in the house include a dishwasher, utility room with a clothes washer-dryer and an optional clothesline, high-speed internet, a big dining room table for meals or activities, and a large screen TV for movie nights. The yard has beautiful native wildlife habitat gardens, veggie and herb pots, a large Cedar Elm, two Live Oaks, a fruit-bearing Fig, a Champenelle grape vine, and a Chili pequin. The cul de sac is a large park-like
  • Promoted
Offer
Offer
  • Marketplace
6 years ago

Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves Books for Sale

Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves, Charles Durrett and Kathryn McCamant introduce Cohousing with stories and pictures of both Danish and American communities. Beautiful photographs and line drawings illustrate the warmly written account of how these communities came to be. Specific information on legal and financial aspects of working with developers, group process, and design issues make this book informative as well as inspiring. This is the book which brought Cohousing to North America. This book is the much prized second edition which has become a rarer and somewhat of a collectors item. Its community case studies were not included in the more recent publication. It preceded Creating Cohousing which is widely available. I acquired 25 cases from a local distributor who closed down. If you would like three or more copies for yourself, to share with your friends or to market your group, please let me know. I would love for them to be made useful and find great homes. Books are paperback (hard copy was not an option at the time from the publisher) all brand new, in Oakland (CA) so could be picked in Oakland or mailed to you. I would very much like to recuperate what I paid which is $10 per book. So, If you would like three or more shipped, I will add the postage, packing and handling fees. I have sold several cases (18 books per case) for $150 per case ($8 per book). I have a little wiggle room on the pricing. Please let me know if you are interested. Use the Send Message button on this page.
Need
  • Communities with Openings
3 years ago

Twin Oaks, an established, income-sharing, village-scale community is seeking new members

Twin Oaks is looking for new members! Founded in 1967, Twin Oaks is an egalitarian, income-sharing community made currently 70 adults and 15 kids, living on 500 forested acres in central Virginia. Twin Oaks has strong social justice values including feminism, racial justice, and queer culture. We host a Queer Gathering and Women’s Gathering each summer, and we have a number of working groups around racial justice issues in general and in an intentional community context. Please visit our website twinoaks.org for more information and directions on how to apply for a Visitor Period. A Visitor Period is the first step towards becoming a member. We can offer: your choice of full-time work in our income-sharing community businesses (heirloom seeds, hammocks, and others) and/or domestic work areas from organic gardening to milking cows and cheese-making to office work to technical jobs and more! an individual room in shared housing; each member has their own personal bedroom and shares a kitchen, living room and bathroom with others in their house. Each residence has its own culture and range of ages. all meals are provided in our communal dining hall and/or in smaller kitchens for individual eating. We generally accommodate all special diets. (gluten-free, vegan, no garlic, etc.) income-sharing includes health-care and monthly stipend for extra We are looking for: people with various life skills and/or a willingness to learn people who share our values of social justice, sustainability and living closely with a diversity of people people with a generally responsible and pro-active approach to community living experience or interest in non-hierarchical, shared decision-making BIPOC, women and non-binary people especially encouraged The first step towards becoming a member is to participate in one of

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