SHARING WITH FRIENDS
Five friends decide they want to live quietly and happily together in retirement in affordable purpose-built homes near to each other, living independent daily lives and also sharing each other’s company – but at times THEY choose.
With the help of the Foundation Workshop series, they develop a set of rules and responsibilities for sharing expenses, having visitors, pets, etc and importantly, how their investment may be recouped if and when they leave the group. They make a formal agreement with each other.
They consult with the Foundation’s architect to choose the design of their homes and gardens (within limited available options).
The Foundation is supported by a team of key advisors, each an expert in their field of planning, architectural design, legal, financial, project management, business and building construction.
Older Women Co-Housing Association (Inc) Qld (trading as Sharing with Friends) is a public benevolent institution with full tax deductible status.
Independent units – separate OR joined
Residents in charge of community management
Shared facilities
Purposeful design to foster community
Intentional community with shared values
Looking like a regular suburban house from the street, Sharing with Friends has been designed as an affordable, safe, secure home for five older women to live privately and with dignity as they age.
The key element of the design is to incorporate essential elements – one’s own kitchen, bedroom, a landscaped courtyard, and privacy.
The central garden pavilion allows for a convivial space for sharing cups of tea, late afternoon drinks, home theatre and a shared meal, if so inclined.
Each unit has its own private, lock-up one bedroom unit with living area, kitchen and bathroom and a private courtyard.
The front deck opens onto an attractively landscaped common garden area. The garden pavilion has a shared laundry, entertainment space, kitchen, and toilet. And there is a garden shed.
Designed for an 800m² block, and placed close to public transport, shops and medical facilities, the residence incorporates all the universal design guidelines for ageing in place-wide doorways, on the ground, wheelchair access etc.
Over a cup of tea, our free & friendly workshops cover a range of topics allowing participants to develop their understanding of what is involved in the general idea of co-housing and specifics of the Sharing with Friends model.
They are open to all-comers, co-hosted by Sharing with Friends’ Secretary Anne Landsberg and Adrienne Irvine two experienced workshop presenters. Other volunteer experts in legal, property, financial, eligibility for government assistance, and co-living are invited to present throughout the series of 12.
Over time, the workshops also allow participants to test the implications of sharing, cooperation, and co-living. The informal setting allows groups smaller than five to get to meet and determine whether joining up in a co-housing situation with like-minded people is worth pursuing.
The Foundation’s directors are dedicated to assisting older women to find suitable homes where they can age in place. There is no obligation to sign up to Sharing with Friends. Various affordable housing options will also be canvassed.
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Listen firsthand to the thoughts of participants.
The Foundation is an incorporated Association established in 2021. We are registered with the Australian Charities for not-for-profit Commission ACNC as a Public Benevolent Institution (PBI). The Foundation grew out of and has the support of Zonta International, a business and professional women’s organisation dedicated to improving the status of women and girls throughout the world.
MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
Susan Davies – President
Andrew Daniels– Treasurer
Adrienne Irvine – General Secretary
Ian Mackie – Director
David Hamlyn-Harris – Director
Anne Landsberg – Director
James Landsberg – Company Secretary
FOUNDING MEMBERS
Susan Davies
Anne Landsberg
Ross Landsberg
Susan Hocking
Ian Mackie
Sallyanne Atkinson
Maggie Shambrook
Send us a message if you have any questions and we’ll get in touch with you as soon as possible.