A discussion paper by Maria Lyons asks whether we are really taking the goals of citizenship and inclusion seriously
Research | 17.11.15
Maria Lyons, an independent researcher and member of the Camphill Research Network, asks important questions about how seriously we take the ideals of citizenship and community inclusion. Standard 'community care' services often fail to help people find friends, love and a place of belonging.
Lyons argues that, while not for everyone, the varied Camphill communities, offer a different path and one from which we can learn something important. In particular sharing lives on the basis of equality - rather than buying support or employing staff - provides a better basis for creating communities where people value each other.
She suggests that research and evidence about Camphill has been too often discarded, and that at their best Camphill communities are the opposite of institutions or residential care homes. Instead they provide, in a microcosm, an image of the worlds we can create if we intentionally choose to live as equals.
Read the report online or download the pdf here.
