Senior Co-housing

Fairly new to North America, the cohousing model, which combines privacy with shared resources emphasizing social, environmental, and economic sustainability, originated in Denmark in the late 1960s, with its first community developed by 1973. The concept reached North America in the late 1980s with the first units opening in California in 1991. A few years later, in 1994, Canada’s first was built in British Columbia.

Cohousing specifically for seniors has only been around for a few years and was developed because of the benefits discovered from multi-generational cohousing occurring in Europe and parts of the USA. Still in its infancy, there are a few communities in Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta, and several in British Columbia.  The model of senior cohousing takes elements from a few existing ones – co-op housing, Aging in Place, Life Lease, and retirement living – in order to create something new and necessary as we begin to consider innovative ways to care for our increasing senior population. In most models, seniors are active participants in developing their own sense of ‘community’. They buy-in (and reside in the privacy of their own unit), manage the complex themselves, and share caregivers, chores, resources & common space as they deem necessary. In sharing resources and care, seniors can manage on a fixed income, and with the support of others in their network, they benefit from social stimulation and emotional support. Residents are encouraged to be interdependent, which encourages each person’s independence. To find out more about senior cohousing in Canada, visit cohousing.ca or canadianseniorcohousing.com.