Zuzu's Place: Cooperative Living for Psychiatric Survivors
ZuZu's Place (the name was inspired by Don White's song, "Angel in Pieces") will
eventually be a number of homes for people with a history of serious emotional
problems. While overwhelming stress may have resulted in their hospitalization
in the past, the members of the Zuzu's Place Cooperatives are committed to
independent living--to making their home--outside of the psychiatric system.
Members appreciate the universal human need for community, but do not want to
live in a "group home" or other institutional setting run by "staff." For such
"psychiatric survivors," there are currently no places in the USA where
cooperative living in a supportive community is available outside of
institutional, professionally run programs. There appear to be some examples of
this type of home in England and Europe and, in the US, cooperative houses that
are run by the members do exist. But, these US co-ops typically refuse to accept
new members who have had a history of "mental illness." Therefore, if survivors
want to join a cooperative community in the US, they have to hide a large part
of themselves--and must even lie--merely to be accepted and given a chance.
The people coming together to create and live in ZuZu's Place want to be open
and honest about their lives, and feel supported by housemates who can relate to
and be patient with one another. People who have survived overwhelming emotional
experiences know about the need for patience, acceptance, and belonging. Almost
invariably they encountered the opposite--judgment, stigmatizing labels,
impatience, and rejection--when they were forced to turn to the available
sources of care or tried to join independent efforts to form caring, cooperative
communities.
The following Portable Document File (pdf) can be read and printed by using
Adobe Acrobat Reader and should open automatically when you click on it. If you
do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can download it for free from Adobe.
(Note that the "reader" version is the free, nearly universal, and essential
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the like over the internet.)
Click here to get Adobe Acrobat Reader
Click here for a printable, one-page pdf file describing Zuzu's Place
Click here to read about the current status of the first house for Zuzu's Place
(as of 10/14/02)
We need your help! Click here to find out how you can help.
Last Updated on
04/08/04
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