PROJECT SUMMARY

 

This is a proposal to End Homelessness for 50 Women and Girls 

This is a call for Community Action to support the building of the Courtney’s Patch ecovillage
to transform mental health trauma and poverty into a happy place for homeless women & girls.

Will YOU get involved in the solution? 

Why Not …
Be the Change You Wish to See in the World!

Courtney’s Patch Ecovillage

When we bear witness, when we become the situation – homelessness, poverty, illness, violence, death
the right action arises by itself. We don’t have to worry about what to do.
We don’t have to figure out solutions ahead of time.
Peacemaking is the functioning of bearing witness.
Once we listen with our entire body and mind, loving action arises. 
– Bernie Glassman – 

FULL PROPOSAL: 
Courtney’s Patch Ecovillage


CLICK on Proposal A Homeless Lives Matter Communty Proposal FINAL 
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1iYm15EdwYrgRQxTf1NNZQnBShRZPC7SY

CLICK on Video Message Susan Carew discusses her vision:  https://youtu.be/oY1CNGrlMWc

 

Introduction to Courtney’s Patch Ecovillage

The case has been made that homelessness is a national crisis requiring the entire community to get involved. The facts are clear and unacceptable in a democratic society. Homeless Lives Matter!

The Courtney’s Patch ecovillage is created in the spirit of the Australia’s National Anthem ‘Advance Australia Fair’ to sing the words remembering the meaning that we are all equal and anyone can fall into homelessness and despair.  The anthem encourages us to come together as a caring nation ready to get involved and give a ‘fair go’.

This proposal aims to take the most vulnerable homeless women and girls (and those at risk of destitution) off the street and in temporary accommodation, to settle them in an ecovillage to renew their lives in safety, community and happiness with those who understand. In the interim whilst building commences permission can be sought with the relevant Council to use land with demountable cabins and mobile homes as temporary structures as shelter. There is an option for the ecovillage to be funded in stages.

The name of this ecovillage is to be Courtney’s Patch ecovillage. It is to honour Courtney Herron and Dr. Patch Adams. Patch Adams is the inspiration for ‘Patch’ as his early life was a struggle with mental health issues and suicide until he had his moment of insight, where he realised he wanted to connect with people and heal through the power of loving compassion.  He found his heart was where his home is. Courtney’s situation was similar given she was dealing with mental health issues, homelessness and addictions.

Patch Adams brought laughter into medicine as he recognised indifference was the worst disease that needs to be treated. Homeless people experience the indifference of people walking past them; the indifference of friends who are no longer in contact; professionals who appear detached and do not follow up or check; and family breakdown where members are unable to reach those lost or do not understand homelessness. This is the social isolation that deepens loneliness.  Patch stated: “To me depression is a symptom of a disease called loneliness.”   

 Mother Teresa agreed saying:

There is much suffering in the world – physical, material, mental. The suffering of some can be blamed on the greed of others. The material and physical suffering is suffering from hunger, from homelessness, from all kinds of diseases.
But the greatest suffering is being lonely, feeling unloved, having no one.
I have come more and more to realize that it is being unwanted that is the worst disease that any human being can ever experience…
the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love. 

 

  

 

The video is a key scene from the movie.  Patch Adams Movie – You Treat a Person (1998) (3.41) https://youtu.be/Pr9ruvxA3K4

 

 

 

 

Homelessness is a mirror to society.  It is not about a house, it is about heartlessness.

 

Patch Adams clowns around the world to remind people that all lives matter. He brought joy to the poorest and most vulnerable people. He demonstrates love as his life in action. He revalues the homeless, abandoned, sick and most vulnerable people. He is an example of genuine humanity. The author of this proposal, Susan Carew, was invited by Patch Adams to travel to Russia to visit orphanages, nursing homes, hospitals and clowning on the streets.  Patch brought a small team together to learn the power of unconditional love towards strangers, and particularly, the vulnerable. 

 

Refer website link: www.worldpeacefull.com/patch-adams/

 

The Aims and Objectives

 

  

 

To facilitate Council support and to set a precedent for other Councils in recognition of homelessness as Australia’s most significant national emergency; 

The ecovillage is a prototype for future ecovillages for other homeless persons and general communities who choose healthy, sustainable and community based lifestyles where all belong and heal;  

To evaluate the ecovillage over 12 months to ensure it meets the needs of homeless women and girls;

To evaluate sustainability in respect of permaculture methods, growing food, low energy use and low cost to the public;

To make this a fun community project full of imagination and REAL HOPE; 

To ensure this project creates a pathway out of homeless for those citizens without homes.

  

 

The Courtney’s Patch Ecovillage is a Community of the Future

 

Homeless women and girls are the ideal group for a sustainable ecovillage of the future as they have the smallest ecological footprint to pilot a sustainable ecovillage given they know how to live with minimum resources, in hardy environments, find resilience and are open to change their lives for the better. 

The Courtney’s Patch ecovillage is envisaged to be sustainable, low cost, low energy and designed to grow renewable lives.

The pilot ecovillage will be designed to be a sustainable community of the future as a prototype to benefit 100% of humanity.

The ecovillage will pilot Geodesic domes, Earthships and Tiny Houses.

The ecovillage setting is healthy, grounded and balanced and will enable the renewing of shattered lives to offer a feeling of shared community as a family.  Many are without families and require community support and friendship. It is a design giving a supportive home whereby those who have experienced the hardship of homelessness and poverty come together to learn to support each other learning to live in the true abundance of a harmonious community which enables the healing process and inner peace.

Susan Carew is a peace educator and trainer in conflict resolution, mediation and alternatives to violence. 

She is a Rotary Peace fellow.

She aims to share her skills to build a foundational community that learns harmony through the transformation of inner and outer conflict given the tools of conflict resolution, inquiry (The Work of Byron Katie[1]), learning assertiveness, listening skills, reflection, nonviolent communication and problem solving. Eco villagers will learn how to come together as a community to discuss community issues and demonstrate fairness and seek for a win/win in group decisions.   

The Courtney’s Patch ecovillage will be designed with the principles of Buckminster Fuller in mind which is to design a harmonious ecovillage based on the a world peace game concept of allocating resources fairly, doing more with less and being able to spread limited resources on the planet to satisfy the growing population. His philosophy aims to make everyone works 100% in spontaneous cooperation for the betterment of all.  This is the sum of the parts exceeding the whole in ONE direction.

Make the world work, for 100% of humanity, in the shortest possible time, through spontaneous cooperation, without ecological offense or the disadvantage of anyone.”

 

The Courtney’s Patch Ecovillage is a Centre-Peace

The Eco villagers living renewable lives at Courtney’s Patch Ecovillage to experience:

1. Healing: The Courtney’s Patch ecovillage is a healing peace centre. The women will grow their own food, cook together, undertake the arts, laugh and play.  It is a space where all are equal and a philosophy or culture of peace is learned and lived.  The women will learn inner inquiry (question negative thoughts), they will learn conflict resolution, nonviolent communication and a peace philosophy that is love based and learning to heal the past. They will come to understand that loving yourself opens you to love others unconditionally.  It is a space that has no religion but allows all beliefs as acceptance is the centrepeace. Love shares, cares, reveals and heals. It will be a transformative place representing a paradigm shift.

2. Living in community.  Many do not know how to live in real community. Patch Adams speaks of this. This place will focus on the community where all live, love and laugh together. It is a positive space where we learn to participate together. We learn how to give to others and receive. To learn giving is living abundance and what we give naturally returns as life is responsive and circular.  This is the real return on our personal investment.  Community is about sharing your skills, speaking up, taking turns and building a space fit for children. All will model loving, supportive, responsive communities that value the individual and the group.

3. Living a renewable life:  The ecovillage complements the Sustainable Development Goals. The housing will be based on innovative cost/effective Geodesic domes, Earthships or Tiny Houses. The will reuse and recycle and be designed for self-sufficiency. Eco-villagers will learn how to live in nature. They learn how to plant a community garden, learn permaculture techniques, understand nature and find peace in growing plants.  Women and girls will learn practical skills on how to living cheaply but sustainably. Permaculture principles and philosophy will be taught. The women will cultivate edible foods to learn the importance of healthy eating. The women and girls can sell produce to make an income.  They will learn about low energy using solar panels and batteries. They will drink fresh tank water. Our lives are nature and this is the mirror that reflects harmony. This is how to plant good seeds that germinate real yields.  Peace is our true nature is the nexus that links inner peace with outer sustainability.

4. Pioneering a community of the future:  The Courtney’s Patch ecovillage is the village of the future. It is based on spaceship earth where the earth is a living wholistic system. It will embrace the ethos of doing more with less. Eco villagers will learn how to live a holistic way of life. The ecovillage will be designed as a place of harmony, peace, empowerment and the cultivation of higher principles by which to live by in harmony with earth systems. It will reflect a Culture of Peace as an ideal community that lives to give, cultivates self-reliance and self determination and is cost effective (aiming for zero costs).  This community will cultivate the Gandhian ethos of living simply so others can simply live.  It is about fulfilment in community and renewing lives to achieve real happiness of inner joy.  The real happiness does not require external stimuli as one learns to live from inspiration, spontaneity, enthusiasm in alignment with the true nature.  The truth does indeed set us free to realise that what we feared was False Evidence Appearing Real and that Our Happy Destiny is Unavoidable when we aim for a win/win for everyone.

The Eco villagers will feel a sense of purpose, dignity and REAL HOPES as the label ‘homelessness’ disappears from their lives forever, to become who they really are!