COVER FEATURE: COMMUNITY
fit several basic human needs." “
DEDICATED WORKFORCE HOUSING One solution could be an expansion of dedicated workforce housing, which is a proven community builder. Dedicated villages for teachers, emergency responders, and medical personnel, for example, allows vital community members a chance to live in the same community they serve. The Indianapolis-based nonprofit Near East Area Renewal recently created Educators’ Village, which includes 22 new and restored historic homes in conjunction with the city’s school system. Having this extremely necessary population of workers living right in the community in which they work is instrumental to building a community. Building communities from within and finding attainable solutions for this workforce housing dilemma is a theme worth continued attention. COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN TRANSITION Two additional segments to consider when it comes to meeting human needs: communities and individuals in transition. Transition can be counted in days, weeks, months, and years. What the community member is transitioning from or to varies greatly. Life changes due to military service, natural disaster, incarceration, addiction, foster care, family abuse, and separation all create the need for solutions that fit several basic human needs. All of these situations create unique housing challenges. The way these situations are met can be the springboard for future success—or the final straw in someone’s life.
Life changes due to military service, natural disaster, incarceration, addiction, foster care, family abuse, and separation all create the need for solutions that
22 | think realty magazine :: january – february 2024
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