Author: W. Corey Trench

This week Director Lisa Thomas gave an excellent presentation on Hope Family Village to Kiwanis Toano.

She described the needs of caregivers and their loved ones who live with serious mental illness.

She covered our innovation. A neighborhood of acceptance. A place where neighbors help neighbors. Hope Family Village is an adaptation of the cohousing approach and design that situates mental health care and support as a top priority.

She credited Sen. Tommy Norment with recognizing the value of our endeavor and being the force behind securing 25 acres for the project at an iconic location, the Eastern State surplus property.

Since 2018, Hope Family Village has been working with James City County, Colonial Behavioral Health, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, the Department of General Services, Division of  Real Estate concerning the community’s realization.

Carmen Making His Remarks

Hope Family Village is very proud of its co-founder, director and treasurer Carmen Andreoli.

Directors’ Trench and Thomas joined Carmen at Employee Volunteers Program Awards luncheon in DC in May.

He was one of only 14 employees, companywide, to receive an award and grant of $5,000 for the HFV organization. He was the only awardee from the non-regulated sector and a subsidiary of Constellation Energy. The parent, Exelon Corporation, is a Fortune 100 energy company.

Carmen pictured with PEPCO CEO Dave Velazquez

As noted in their presentation, the award help support the opening of Williamsburg Fairweather Lodge, the first such lodge in Virginia, this July.

In his acceptance, Carmen demonstrated HFV’s character as an organization by first acknowledging his fellow volunteers for their community service commitment and then the company for supporting the efforts of its employees.

in his remarks, he spoke how about how Hope Family Village is filling a vacuum by providing support to caregivers (8.4 million) and their loved ones (1 in 25) who live with a serious mental illness.

Six months ago, we held our first strategic planning workshop (coach Susie Hill and W&M Business School’s Kim Mallory prompted us). We got off to a great start. As President, I wish to acknowledge all that Susie and Kim, the W&M Business School (LD Metcalfe, Graham Henshaw and their student teams) have done to support us in our startup stage. Amazing is what can happen in a very short period of time.

1. We will open the first Fairweather Lodge in Virginia in July.
2. We have met with Virginia’s Dept. of General Services to further discuss and confirm their commitment to lease 25 acres of property for $1 at Eastern State to Hope Family Village (HFV) Corporation. Included in the final budget is an amendment sponsored by Sen. Tommy Norment.
3. We have continued to receive generous donations from families who believe in our management team, HFV’s mission and accomplishments, most notably caregivers Lee and Betty Anne Griffin. We are most appreciative and grateful to all.
4. The week of our meeting we received word that Exelon Corporation (Chicago) had issued a Employee Volunteer Awards grant to HFV because of the volunteer work of director Carmen Andreoli. Only one awarded from the non-regulated business.

In our meeting April 18th, board members were, again, joined by significant resource people who have been guiding both the lodge and village projects. Retired management consultant, fellow W&M Alum, Van Black (’75), a very early donor to our pursuit (2015), took us through an action-oriented day.

Fairweather lodge is autonomous living for unrelated adults living with a serious mental illness diagnosis. The first group has been working together for almost two years, at The Coffee House on Saturday mornings at 8 AM, preparing for this moment. Each lodge member has  a job, a requirement of the model. Three serve as NAMI Connections Group facilitators. As their lodge coordinator, I am very proud of them.

The lodge development process would never have happened without the consistent support of the Coalition for Community Living, the board, and  lodge coordinators from around the country, especially Bill McHenry of New Visions, Inc. and John Trepp.

Hope Family Village’s first neighborhood will serve 25 caregiving families and their loved ones who manage a serious mental illness. Within the village, there will be at least one Fairweather Lodge. The village will blend co-housing and Fairweather Lodge principles and practices together to achieve wellness and support. The community’s highest priority is mental health care. As an inclusive community, by design, it will be open to those who embrace our vision. The idea is that neighbors help neighbors.

We thank CDR for loaning us their conference room to continue our work.

Since January, we have been running full out. (I have noticed some grey hair appearing.)

1. In July we will open the first Fairweather Lodge in Virginia. The Williamsburg Fairweather Lodge has been a long time coming. Beginning in 2015, we took part in national lodge events and conferences. In 2017, we started a virtual lodge at The Coffee House. Now, here we are four lodge members moving into a real house. They have been working on their lodge rules and handbook. Much work remains ahead, but everyone is confident and excited. We want this first home to be a success. We want our community to know what is possible when a small group goes to work. They will see that Hope Family Village is much more than talk. We have a great board and supporters. And, we do stuff.

Lodge Member Saturday Morning Breakfast Meeting

Dave Ress, Daily Press, interviewed founding families at our monthly dinner at Jimmy’s, December 13 – to find out more about Hope Family Village.  Our ambitions.

25 people came to family dinner (click pic for article)

His piece appeared on Christmas Eve. Our families were overjoyed to see the coverage. Neighboring NAMI Affiliates have been contacting us with the same excitement.

Our colleagues at the Coalition for Community Living, where Hope Family Village is a member, really liked the presentation.

We competed our first year of the 501(c)3 Nonprofit Public Charity, Hope Family Village. Our accomplishments have been stunning!

Members of the Williams Fairweather Lodge at their Christmas Potluck (December 2018)

Lodge Members Bowling with the W&M Fraternity, Phi Gamma Delta (The Fijis) (December 2018)

Number 1. Hope Family Village was named in the Governor’s Budget for the development of a community for 25 caregiving families and their loved ones living with a mental illness.

Since June, we have been working with James City County Planning and Social Services, culminating in the submission of a preliminary conceptual design. The project will take an estimated 3 years to develop (2022).

Number 2. We identified the right landlord to help Hope Family Village open the first Fairweather Lodge in Virginia in July of 2019. We have been working toward this moment since March of 2015. Lodge members have been preparing – meeting weekly, obtaining jobs, filing outcome reports (measure 14 fidelity standards), and conducting lodge activities –  since June of 2017 at The Coffee House. Our innovation, as a lodge without a house, was honored in Minneapolis at the Fairweather Lodge Conference.

W. Corey Trench, President of HFV and Executive Director of the Coalition for Community Living’s John Trepp. Award Ceremony, 2018 George (Bill) Fairweather Innovation Award

Additionally, Hope Family Village:

• Received startup funding in 2017, which we have grown in 2018

• Held 3 board meetings, one special meeting, and one annual meeting.

We worked with the W&M School on a number of projects; the student joined us for one of the meetings.

• Established Planning and Finance Committees

Within each are subcommittees (e.g., community eligibility criteria)

• Held Strategic Planning Workshop facilitated by Susie Hill.

Here we reviewed our founding vision, history, state of the state, priorities, milestones and responsibilities for 2019

Session Held at CDR (Norge, VA)

•  Received its first grant from the Williamsburg Community Foundation

• Participated in two NAMI VA Events, one a workshop that our board members facilitated

Facilitated Brainstorming Session about Hope Family Village at NAMI Virginia Leadership Conference in Richmond, Virginia

•  Were recognized with the NAMI VA Hope Award

Hope Family Village Members in Richmond, VA

•  Held monthly dinners expanded (20 – 25 people attending), adding to our list of HFV community prospects

Family Dinner at Jimmy’s Oven And Grill

•  Participated, as a member agency and board member, in monthly CCL lodge coordinators calls, board member and marketing committee meetings

The coalition has embraced and supported Hope Family Village and our approach to incorporating Fairweather principles into our community’s design.

CCL Board Meeting and Workshop (October 2018)

•  Sponsored W&M Center of Entrepreneurship Project (2017 – 2018), a business model evaluation project, that recommended the Fairweather Lodge as a gateway to Hope Family Village, the community

Cooking a Meal, Having Fun, Working Together at W&M’s Fiji House and with the EFC Team

Making and then breaking bread is essential to caregiver and peer wellness. Hosted here by the Fijis, who live to cook.

EFC Team Leading Brainstorming Session

W&M Team Pictured with Van Black, project donor, and Board Members Trench, Rideout and Whitehead.

• Delivered presentations to Riverside Health System, the W&M Entrepreneurship Center, Rotary Club, and Crown Colony Club

• Expanded our network. Coordinating with Colonial Behavioral Health,  James City County, House of Mercy, NAMI Affiliates, and 3E Restoration

• Toured various property options, including Eastern State

Walked Eastern State State property (plus considered other options (e.g, Riverside Quarterpath, land) and various house rental options). Visited Oxford Houses.

• Participated in intense learning and networking Cohousing Regional Conferences (Boulder, Amherst), where we visited and met with members of co-housing villages.

In 2018, we visited 7 villages in three states (CO, MA, and VA)

In Amherst, we met with, and subsequently engaged co-housing architect Laura Fitch, who developed our first preliminary concept design for 25 families on 10 acre plot.

Pioneer Village, Amherst, MA

•  Developed an identity, presence on the web (thanks to Phil Trench), and initial marketing materials through the support of W&M’s Kim Mallory

Ted Pino, a longtime advertising agency, has been lending his expertise to help us keep improving our outreach.

2019: Year Ahead will not be quiet, either.

We will:

• Follow Strategic Plan Priorities, reviewing our progress throughout the year

• Start a lodge in a real house (Jan – July window)

Move-in the first residents. Make this place a focal point for HFV

• Keep rallying prospective caregiving families to live in the 25 family village

• Develop details of the hypothetical village at Eastern State

• Participate in JCC Comprehensive Planning Process

• Seek VA Budget Amendment that creates specific acreage and financial terms for Eastern State property.

• Identify other land options in JCC, York, and possibly other counties

When others are running from a problem, we are embracing it. Turning difficulty upside down into opportunity. We see what others might not. We take one small thing, a family dinner, demonstrate it, and show how it leads to another small thing. Eventually, you wind up with a neighborhood. A family of acceptance and respect. Unafraid of the future. That’s Hope Family Village. And, why you want to be here more than any place else. The welcome mat is out.

Let us show you something.

Yeah, it’s a preliminary, draft conceptual design for one prospective location at Eastern State.

We shared it with James City County Planning and Social Service last Friday.

The board has engaged award-winning community architect Laura Fitch at the toughest stage. The starting blocks. And, on a very quick turn around, combined with a snow storm.

We know terrain laced with obstacles.

From April until the present has been nonstop for Hope Family Village.

On April 19 – 23, this villager was in Boulder, CO for the Western Region Cohousing Conference. I met many startup communities like ours; learned from cohousing architects and developers; and visited four different communities in the area. We were there to find out what it really takes to develop a community. In short, a lot of hard work by committed families.

The board of directors, along with our founding families, are in a learning mode. Taking Cohousing 101 seemed the most natural of first steps. The session on Marketing, though, was also very informative. Director Lisa Thomas, recently retired from an Williamsburg icon nonprofit, CDR, will be attending the Amherst, MA conference.

In August, Parade Magazine covered How America Lives: Creating Housing for Boomers, Veterans, Millennials, and More. We are the More. A MUST READ.

On returning, we had our board meeting, April 28th, then I was off on a 2-day visit to Virginia cohousing communities, Elderspirit in Abingdon, VA and Shadowlake Village in Blacksburg, VA.  For different reasons, spending one-on-one time with members of both these communities and reviewing their layout was incredibly helpful. Elderspirit is a 55 and older community, located on a 3 acre plot, borders a gorgeous park and trail. Shadowlake is on a larger piece of wooded property, around 30 acres, and has younger families. In both instances, the communities completely understood our mission and had experience in caregiving for people with a mental health diagnosis. The heart of both communities is the common home. Mail, meals, and activities can be shared here.

In May, we concerned ourselves with the Virginia State Budget. An milestone for us, Hope Family Village Corporation was specifically named for a co-located project at Eastern State surplus property (400 acres). The two other projects are behavioral health and medical/dental services. James City County (JCC) leads the effort. We will be part of a comprehensive planning and rezoning effort. Several directors had a meeting with JCC officials to define our project and needs. Our plan is to develop one project  for 25 families. The community will feature at least one Fairweather Lodge.

NAMI Virginia held their Leadership Conference and Annual Meeting in Richmond, VA in June. We offered a short workshop on our concept. Only, we presented from the vantage point of creating community. How would families go about taking care of one another? We handed out fliers about the project and picked up the names of interested families. We expect to draw families from outside the Williamsburg area.

In July, Bill McHenry, Lodge Coordinator for New Visions, Inc. (PA), George Duke (MD), retired commercial and industrial development investor, and Van Black (FLA) our intrepid supporter came to Williamsburg. We walked the Eastern State property; participated in a lodge meeting together; and met other potential partners in our project (e.g., House of Mercy).

Was August any slower? Yes. It was summer. We did manage our monthly family dinner. We are gradually sharing our story with more and more people.

Next up, while Lisa is in Amherst for the Cohousing Workshop and Conference, I will be in Minneapolis or the Coalition for Community Living Conference and Annual Meeting this month. Will be visiting Fairweather Lodges and a architect of eco-villages.

We know we are on a long road, but we will get there. 8.4 million caregiving families, just like ours, are counting on us.

Anyone who is interested in the community, please contact W. Corey Trench at wctrench@gmail.com