Salem Cohousing is an affordable cohousing development project designed to help youth and their parents achieve economic stability. The idea of Salem Cohousing thrived from interest meetings and a needs assessments survey conducted by single mothers participating in the Two-Generations Program. Participants discussed the idea of living together communally to raise their children while working towards their goals and begin researching alternative living arrangements that would provide daily support for their families. Through the process of seeking alternative living arrangements and researching other communal living models, Salem Cohousing was developed due to the lack of available affordable housing options located in Winston-Salem, NC.

 

Salem Cohousing was strategically designed on the participants concept of private homes clustered around the sharing of resources among residents, providing free educational programs daily, childcare, parenting classes, career development, skill training, and physicological support. Salem Cohousing will provide a social support system amongst the residents, tapping into an unmet need among single mothers living in poverty. Neighbors help each other with everything from childcare to home maintenance and with expanded resources through the sharing of responsibilities, costs, and the social support system developed through this framework, residents will be able to make important changes in their lives that support their transition out of poverty.

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This Project is supported by S.G. Atkins CDC, WSSU Center for the Study of Economic Mobility, & STITCH Design Shop. A capital campaign will launch in the fall of 2022 and construction is projected to be completed by 2024. For more ways to support please contact us or visit our ways to give page.