Men’s Vision House
As part of its commitment to promoting men’s wellness, Manifest and a group of visionary investors created a cooperative Men’s Vision House in June, 2007. The house is dedicated to supporting gentle, powerful men in creating their unique visions of wellness & community. The house is dedicated to embodying vision, sustainability, community, service to & from abundance, play, hospitality, presence, and peace. We are strengthened by our many forms of diversity (age, ethnicity, orientation, education, spirituality, diets, backgrounds, and much more). Below is information about becoming a housemate or guest of the house. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then you also might want to check out our facebook photo album. If you’re interested in who lives in the Men’s Vision House, there are short bios & photos at the end of this page, along with links to our facebook profiles.
APPLYING TO BECOME A HOUSEMATE: After reviewing the information below, if you want to schedule a tour of the house or learn more about becoming a housemate, please call Bart Church, Property Manager, at 503-223-8822 x2 or (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) if you are interested in becoming a housemate or want to know if there are vacancies. Generally we post vacancies on craigslist and the Manifest event email list (click here to subscribe).
APPLYING TO BECOME A GUEST: If you want to explore the possibility of becoming a short-term guest (2 weeks or less) of the Men’s Vision House, please contact Nathan Holst, our guest relations coordinator at (218) 391-0238, or (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). We allow guests to stay up to 2 weeks if they are manifesting a vision that inspires us. Longer guest stays, up to 90 days, are possible if you inspire all housemates in your short-term stay.
INFORMATION FOR HOUSEMATE CANDIDATES
Below is information for housemate candidates about the basic benefits and commitments they can expect as a resident of the house. This document is a work-in-progress and most of the agreements can be changed by housemate consensus at any time.
Thanks for your interest in the Men’s Vision House, and for letting us know a little about you. The room is available 6/1/10, and the rent is $458.25 (not including utilities). Below is some information on the house, the vision of our cooperative community, and the benefits and responsibilities of housemates.
After reviewing this information, if you’d like to schedule a visit to the house, please call us at 503-223-8822 x3, and let us know 2-3 specific times in the next few days that would be convenient for you to visit.
We’ll then have a housemate who can show you around on one of the times you selected get in touch with you. During your visit you can ask questions and meet any housemates who are here. Then if you’re interested in living in the house, you can submit an application and we’ll schedule you for an interview with all the housemates (we like to do interviews on Sundays, 5:30-7:00 pm, although we can schedule special interviews at other times for candidates who are not available Sundays).
We look forward to getting to know you. After reading the information below, please let us know several specific times that would be convenient for you to visit in the next week.
MEN’S VISION HOUSE
INFORMATION FOR HOUSEMATE CANDIDATES
The following information overviews the benefits & commitments you can expect as a housemate. Most of the agreements outlined in this document can be changed by consensus of the housemates, and this document is a work-in-progress.
VISION
“Love is the source of health: love of self, others, & all life.
Do not be afraid to love; without love, life is impossible.”
—Thich Nhat Hanh
Our cooperative house is dedicated to supporting gentle, powerful men in creating their unique visions of wellness, community, & sustainability. As a house we also support the creation of a community of men who empower one another to manifest wellness & love through community. Through our living together we seek to inspire our individual and collective visions of body/mind/spirit wellness, and to heal ourselves and the many communities & ecosystems we belong to and/or care about. We are men of diverse ages, skills, backgrounds, orientations, and intentions. And we want our home & housemates to support us in living our lives fully—with purpose and joy. After 6 months living in the house, housemates have the opportunity to purchase units of the Men’s Wellness Network, LLC, and thereby become partial owners of the house.
SHARED SPACES & RESOURCES
• gas stove,
• 2 Bathrooms
• House is fully insulated & has efficient gas furnace
• Off-street parking (long driveway)
• New EnergyStar (energy efficient) large-capacity washer & dryer
• 2 new EnergyStar refrigerators
• lots of storage in attic & basement
• locked shed for bikes & gardening tools
• large, very productive vegetable garden, labyrinth, & large back & side yards with lots of south & east light for gardening & house dinners & parties in warmer months
• 1100 gallon rainwater cistern & gravity-fed irrigation system for garden
• a guest room/meditation room for housemate’s and their guests
• Ethernet high-speed wireless connections & phone jacks in each room, plus wireless high-speed internet throughout the house
• free onsite yoga, meditation, healing touch, & wellness classes
• huge living room/studio with hard-wood floors (for yoga, movement, parties, meals, & meetings); you can request to use this space for groups or events you care about; the space is used M-F 9-5 pm and 4 nights a week approximately 6-9pm, by Manifest, a non-profit men’s wellness community that offers yoga, meditation, healing touch, sound healing, & other men’s wellness programs; housemates may attend any Manifest events in the house free
• very affordable utilities
• very affordable, delicious shared vegetarian meals & staple foods(you’ll save a lot of time & money on eating out or preparing your own food)
• family room w/ TV/stereo/DVD & Japanese-style dining room table & high speed internet & phone jack (can be used as office w/ permission of all housemates)
FOOD/MEALS
We share most prepared meals (breakfast, lunch, & dinner) & staple foods (foods we all agree we all eat and want to share in common). House dinner & breakfast dishes are prepared by 2 house cooks every week, and once a month on Sundays each housemate takes turns helping to prepare a house meal. Prepared house meals can be eaten by housemates whenever they want, as can staples. We typically only sit down to a shared meal of all housemates once a week on Sunday evenings. We each contribute about $85-$125/month for shared food, utilities, & other shared household items (cleaning supplies, toilet paper, gardening supplies etc). All shared food is vegetarian, although meat-eaters are free to buy & prepare their own chicken/meat/fish. Since some housemates are vegetarian, we have separate cutting boards and frying pans for meat eaters and vegetarians.
UTILITIES
Utilities are not included in rent to inspire conservation by all housemates. They include gas heat, stove, & drier, electric hot water & compact fluorescent bulbs in most common areas, as well as high-speed internet connections in every room, and a house phone. We also buy groceries, garden supplies, and house cleaning supplies collectively. Utilities average $45-$55 in colder months and $35-$45 in warmer months, and are included in the $100-$160 house dues we pay at the beginning of each month. We don’t have A/C except for 2nd floor bedroom, and fans keep us plenty comfortable in the summer. To conserve energy, we tend to keep the thermostat low in the winter and bundle up or use space heaters to briefly warm up spaces we’re using.
BIKES/PARKING
We have a large locked shed for bike storage. For those with cars, we share a long driveway (about 2 off-street parking spaces). Housemates who share the driveway need to give one another their spare keys so they can move cars when necessary. If you don’t park in the driveway, you must park on Wygant (not on our block of NE 22nd), to avoid creating parking problems for our neighbors.
HOUSE MEETINGS, HEART CIRCLES, FUN NIGHTS
Once or twice a month we all participate in a housemeeting designed to help us all prioritize and address the questions we need to answer to help the house maintain harmony, beauty, and fun. To support one another in manifesting our visions, we also meet once or twice a month in a vision circle where we each answer the following questions, speaking from our heart without cross-talk or judgment from others:
1. What is your vision?
2. What’s going well in relation to your vision?
3. What challenges or distractions are you facing in relation to your vision?
4. What support would you like to request from housemates or the whole house?
5. What else would you like to say to clear & express fully what is in your heart?
Once a month or so we also may meet in heart circle to talk about our feelings & needs and request feedback or empathy (or not). Once a month we also try to have a fun night where all housemates (and sometimes guests) do some fun activity together, like playing board games, skating, going to Kennedy School Hot Tub, watching a movie, etc.
COMMUNICATION
We all commit to open, honest, & compassionate communication. We also agree to double confidentiality: we will not gossip about others who are not present and we will not speak about confidential information (including anything said in heart circles) said to us by one housemate to anyone else without their permission.
GUESTS
We are committed to providing hospitality to our friends, relatives, & community groups we love. Housemates may have guests spend the night in their room just by informing other housemates of the name of the person and introducing that person to any housemates that are around. Guests may only stay in your room up to 13 days per month; after that you must seek permission from all housemates and the property manager, and your guest will likely be required to pitch in money for food, utilities, and wear & tear on the house ($14/day). If you want your guest to stay in the house guest room, you must seek prior approval from all housemates and check with the guest hospitality coordinator to make sure the guest room is not already booked. Guests may stay in the guest room for up to 13 days without charge (except we may ask them to pitch in for food if they eat a lot of house staples). If a guest in the guest room wants to stay MORE than 13 days, their stay must be approved in advance by all housemates and the property manager, and that guest will pay about $14/day for food, utilities, and wear & tear on the house. Exceptions can be made to this payment requirement, but they must be approved by all housemates and the property manager.
FREE YOGA/MEDITATION/WELLNESS CLASSES
Part of the mission of the Men’s Vision House is supporting men in manifesting wellness & love through community. As part of this mission, we share a studio space in the house with Manifest Men’s Wellness Community, a non-profit organization. Manifest offers 8 yoga classes each week, healing touch classes monthly, a Passionate Work support group, occasional cooking classes, creative movement classes, and other special wellness programs for men. All housemates may attend any of these events that are held in the Manifest Studio for free or for whatever time or money they would enjoy donating. In return for free access to all classes in the studio, housemates agree to be quiet when they use the kitchen during events, as well as to help maintain cleanliness in the main bathroom and kitchen, which are shared with events.
GARDEN/LANDSCAPING
All housemates benefit from our large, beautiful garden & labyrinth, and therefore commit to work at least 30 minutes per week in weeding & watering the garden. If housesmates don’t have time to work in the garden, they can pay $20/week which the house can use to hire a housemate or gardener.
PETS/SMOKING/DRUGS/ALCOHOL
Because some housemates have allergies, we can’t allow furry pets or smoking in the house. Because of the public visibility & scrutiny of this house we cannot allow any illegal drug use or possession anywhere on the property. Because of the high profile nature of this house, the property manager and MWN, LLC cannot be seen to be tolerating illegal drug use or possession on the property. To do so could result in the forfeiture of the whole house to the government should a criminal prosecution be leveled against the house. This is one of the unfortunate consequences of the government’s misguided & idiotic “war on drugs.” To assure we are present with one another, the house requests housemates not use alcohol or mood-altering drugs before a house meeting or heart circle. Alcohol and mood-altering drugs are not used at Manifest events, but housemates and their guests can drink alcohol in moderation in the house. Alcohol is not stored in the main refrigerator (but can be in the downstairs refrigerator). Most housemates don’t drink alcohol or use it infrequently.
CHORES
Each housemate does 2-3 chores each month, which take about 6-8 hours/week. If a housemate is too busy to do their chores they can either pay another housemate or house-cleaner to do their chore, swap chores with another housemate, or ask housemates to temporarily assist you in completing your chore. We collectively evaluate how well each of us are doing our chores and whether we want to switch chores each month. We all participate in a game to keep the kitchen and main bathroom impeccably clean, as we share these spaces with the Manifest Studio. We each spend about 3 mins/day cleaning the kitchen and about 3 mins/day cleaning the main bathroom.
BANK ACCOUNT & TREASURER
The housemates belong to a non-for-profit association (Men’s Vision House), and the association maintains a bank account that will be used to collect house dues (utilities, staples, vacancy fund, special projects). One of the housemates serves as our treasurer and collects house dues each month and pays utilities and makes reimbursements. The treasurer will also help assure the bulk shopper(s) and retail shopper stay within their spending budgets each month and provide a house financial report each month. Michael St. John is the current treasurer and you can ask him specific questions about house dues (utilities & food costs): (503) 283-7040 (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
RENT & SECURITY DEPOSIT
Rent is due on the first of the month no later than 5 pm. If rent is more than five days late, you are charged a $25 late fee. We are all responsible for the whole house’s rent and for our individual room rent. This means if there is a vacancy in the house, we all take responsibility for recruiting, interviewing, and selecting a replacement. If we are not successful in our search, our rent goes up proportionally until we find a replacement. We’ve never had trouble finding replacement housemates and have never experienced a rent increase because of a vacancy. We maintain a rent reserve fund to shield us from increases if there is a brief vacancy. Once you are accepted into the house as a housemate, within 24 hours you submit your security deposit which is equal to one month’s rent. This deposit is not refundable until you pay your first month’s rent. After you pay 1st month’s rent, your security deposit becomes refundable if, after you move out, you’ve left your room in substantially the same condition it was in when you moved in, AND you pay your utilties and house dues for the period of your tenancy.
DIVERSITY
We value diversity in experience, background, class, race, orientation, intention, and many other factors — because we believe that having many perspectives creates a much richer, more adaptable learning system & community.
SOME QUALITIES WE LIKE IN HOUSEMATES
* Have a solid source of income sufficient to pay your rent, food, utilities, and to experience simple living & financial abundance
* Compassionate & Honest
* Effective communicator
* Strong, hopeful, & resilient
* Enjoy daily spiritual practice (e.g, yoga, meditation, Tai Chi, mindfulness, walking, etc.)
* Enjoy gardening regularly
* Love beauty & cleanliness, and enjoy helping to create & maintain them
* Funny & Playful
* Enjoy participating in Manifest events (see schedule at Manifest Calendar
* Know & be working to manifest your vision of great work, relationships, wellness, spiritual connection, and service to the people & communities you love
* Creative and committed to integrity (alignment between what is in your heart, what you say, and what you do).
DIVERSITY
We value diversity in experience, background, class, race, orientation, intention, and many other factors — because we believe that having many perspectives creates a much richer, more adaptable learning system & community.
“Be patient toward all that is unsolved
in your heart,
and try to love the questions
themselves.”
—Rainer Maria Rilke
CURRENT HOUSEMATES
* BART CHURCH, 49, was trained as an attorney (graduated Antioch School of Law 1985), a yoga teacher (Unity Woods Yoga Studio, Washington, DC 1985-1995 and Mt. Madonna Yoga Center, Santa Cruz, CA 1999-2003), a massage therapist (graduated Body Electric School of Massage, Oakland, CA 1995 and Oregon School of Massage, Portland, OR 2007), Zen Shiatsu Practitioner (graduated Shiatsu & Healing Center, Potomac, MD 1996). Since January 2004, he’s served as the Interim Executive Director and Program Director for Manifest, a non-profit men’s wellness community. Learn more about his work at Manifest by clicking Bart Church
* NATHAN HOLST, 26, is finishing his MSW (Masters in Social Work) program at PSU, working as an intern at Sisters of the Road, working facilitating inter-cultural dialogues with Portland’s Human Right’s Commission, and about to begin an internship with an urban spiritual community. He is passionate about exploring rest and renewal on his weekly Sabbath day and finding a great job after he graduates helping to end racism and other isms that separate communities in the Portland area.
* RODNEY TYLER, 44, is a kidney dialysis tech, who will begin studying for his RN (Registered Nurse) degree next fall; he is a brilliant cook who is enjoying learning to cook vegetarian and Ayurvedic dishes in the Men’s Vision House. He is passionate about recovery, his morning yoga/meditation practice, and cooking.
* ISSA KITTERMAN, 34, works delivering flyers & posters to public places all over Portland, enjoys playing ukulele, guitar, and singing, and is passionate about recovery, and providing Trinfinity 8 Meditation groups to people who want to fundamentally transform their relationship with life and suffering.
* BRYAN ROLLINS, 26, is a yoga teacher, gardening educator & organizer, and loves helping both adults and kids discover the joy of moving naturally through yoga, and connecting deeply through gardening. He facilitates Manifest’s Gardening & Food Sustainability Team, as well as teaches its Yoga Basics class.
* MICHAEL ST. JOHN, 47, is a computer systems specialist for both macs and PCs and for individuals and small businesses. He also occasionally works as a handy man, audio or video consultant, and counselor. He is writing a book on how child-rearing & education practices affect our ability to create community and peace.