Broken Homes

We should hold a national discussion on the state of homes in America. Not the broken homes of failed marriages or homes falling apart with bad roofs, broken down furnaces and air conditioning, or leaky plumbing and faulty electrical systems. No we need to talk about homes that are appropriate to the needs of the people living within the buildings.

Nor should this discussion focus on broken relationships and dysfunctional families, although there is much that could and should be talked about on this topic alone. No we need to talk about affordability of housing for people of all backgrounds throughout the nation.

Here’s what needs to be talked about: housing that is nurturing to its occupants.

When I think of this topic these elements come to mind:

• Space to allow free movement within rooms
• Room to decorate with ideas on the walls, colors that stimulate mood and mind
• Functionality to support bodily function – bathrooms for hygiene and health, kitchens for preparation of healthy diets
• Healthy air quality – temperature, fresh air, clean air
• Silence within which to think and ponder
• Comfort for repose, reading, sleeping and mental activity
• Nurture of inter-relations of occupants; privacy of both body and mind
• External views that inspire or calm rather than alarm or depress – landscaping that embraces lives rather than challenges them 

I think of the elements listed above as community within a home.

Another form of community is a large component of housing that nurtures occupants. It is the community external to home.

By that I refer to the natural connectedness of a home to its neighborhood and network of neighborhoods which collect as a town or village. The latter is the broader community which is formed as homes and neighborhoods collaborate into meaningful towns which function socially, politically, economically and psychologically, all to nurture the citizens within the community.

Service organizations and clubs pop to mind. So do churches and other social entities which develop spiritual and intellectual depths of their people. Collective citizenship of the community is a phrase that emerges in my sensibility. This is the sense of being well, accepted, nurtured and belonging to the larger community.

Daily routines build within such communities. Shopping for necessities is provided for. Occupations and hobbies and special interests are supported – art, education, human development and so much more. Music and drama are encouraged. Sports – both team and individual – are organized and developed for all who are interested. Safety and well-being is optimized.

A community that supports all of the above has dynamic public bodies such as city government, park districts, libraries, fire protection, police departments, water and sewer systems, and public works departments which provide roads, Stormwater management, and other quality of life supports.

So too these communities plan for diverse peoples living together with diverse needs respective of life phases – early childhood, middle childhood, adult education and development, economic and commercial development, phases of adult living needing special attention and support. Elderly and quality of end of life phases should be addressed as well.

In short community living that cares for one another and makes daily routines worthwhile in the main.

How does your community stack up to these elements? Do you have voids or does your village or town compare well with ideals? Is there work to be done? Are all segments of your population getting needed attention or are we mostly unaware of their separate needs? If not, ought we be concerned? Do we have a responsibility to be concerned?

I think we live busy lives always. When young we are preparing for life independent of parental supervision. When young adults we are forming our own core family units and reaching for careers to sustain our personal dreams. In full adulthood we are straining to complete the preparations of our own kids so they are sustainable adults – happy and productive in their own regeneration and family building. And in empty nest and pre-retirement phases we work toward end of career and meaningful lives in retirement.

Not a retirement of repose and uselessness but rather a time to reflect and teach future generations of what is possible for them well into the future. Retirement is only a phase of useful lives being useful to others. In doing that the doer nurtures self and community all in the same motion.

Are we paying attention to all of this in our lives? Are there homes and support networks that focus on all of these important citizen segments?

If we don’t someone is being left behind. Alone. Forgotten. Un-nurtured. Broken. Broken individuals and homes.

And our communities as well.

March 18, 2013