Community Living Model

St. Mary's Convent, Baltimore, MD

Rent: $265/month, utilities and $60 deposit included (for 12 months)

Phone: We opted to use our individual cell phones, but a house phone would be a good idea. The group before us began with long distance, but people didn't always own up to their charges, so they switched to phone cards only. It was approximately $5/month for unlimited local access. Telephone service included call waiting and caller ID; an answering machine was provided.

Food: approximately $80/month
We started out collecting $10/week for 3 community dinners, but that ended. We now collect $5/week for community supplies and foods we all use like milk, butter, eggs, bread, etc.

Community Time
The following was our plan in the beginning, but it never quite worked out. Now three of us cook together 2 times a week, and we have meetings when we think we need them. We still eat with the sisters every month, but don't have scheduled community nights. We've been pretty good about throwing regular parties, though.
· Dinner - 2 nights a week (Monday - Thursday)
· Community Night - once a month
· Community Meeting - twice a month (1st and 3rd Monday at dinner)
· Party - once every month or two
· Dinner with the Sisters - once a month (2nd Monday on the 2nd floor)

Household Responsibilities
Each member of the household was responsible for an aspect of community living, but again, our intentions were better than our actions. Maria still takes care of the money, but the purchase of food and supplies is done by whomever gets a chance. The other jobs have basically been forgotten.
1. Chores - rotate the chore wheel and make sure they're getting done
2. Community Food - buy food and schedule dinners
3. Community Supplies - buy supplies
4. Money/Treasurer - collect weekly contributions and rent and reimburse for community expenditures
5. Calendar/Schedule - schedule community meetings, etc.
6. Entertainment - look through the City Paper and let us know what cool things are happening in the city

Chore List
Each member of the community held one of the following chores for one week. We rotated every Sunday evening. (One of the few plans that actually worked out for us really well.)
1 . Bathroom - (2 people) cleaning the floor, sinks, toilets, and tubs on the 1st and 3rd floors
2 . Trash/Recycling - emptying all communal cans (i.e. kitchen, bathroom, living room), bringing trash to dumpster and recycling to curb. If there's no recycling that week then you have a free week!
3 . Kitchen and Pantry - empty dishwasher and drying rack, wash dishes in sink (though people should wash their own), cleaning the kitchen floor and counter, the pantry floor, and checking the fridge, freezer, and cabinets for old/expired food
4 . Downstairs Living Area - sweeping and vacuuming the floor in the living area and hall, vacuuming the couches, dusting (if necessary)
5 . Upstairs Living Area - sweeping or vacuuming the floor in the hall and living rooms
Midway through our service year, we accepted two new members into our community. They were VISTAs in the area who were losing their housing. When they came aboard, we added 2 off-weeks to the wheel.

Community Food
Includes…
· Milk/ Soy milk
· Bread
· Eggs
· Condiments - i.e. butter, catsup, mayo, mustard, salad dressing, etc.
· Spices

Community Supplies
· Laundry supplies - i.e. bleach, detergent, fabric softener
· Cleaning supplies
· Paper goods - i.e. toilet paper, paper towels, etc.

Money
· $5 each week for community needs
· $20 the first week
· miscellaneous amounts for parties

The Convent

1st Floor or Ground Floor - Volunteer living area - Includes:
· Kitchen and Pantry - 2 refrigerators, 1 freezer, stove/oven, dish washer, dishes, pots, pans, silverware, toaster, coffee maker, all the basics
· Laundry room - 2 washers, 1 dryer, drying racks, iron, ironing board, etc. (FREE - not coin operated)
· Large living room - lots of furniture, small TV with cable but no VCR or DVD player (we brought our own)
· VISTA office
· Small half-bath

2nd Floor or 1st according to the elevator - Includes:
· NDMVA offices
· Meeting/ conference room
· Chapel
· Sisters' living area - small living room and kitchen
· Small half-bath

3rd Floor or 2nd according to the elevator - Volunteer rooms - Includes:
· 12 single-occupancy bed rooms (They never fill more than 8.) with twin bed, desk, sink and mirror, window, small closet, and your choice of additional furniture (whatever is there that someone else hasn't already claimed). Some of the rooms are carpeted, others have throw rugs. You'll need your own bedding and towels.
· Bathroom with 4 toilet stalls and 3 shower stalls (the 4th is broken) - the shower stalls are fully separated from each other and include a regular bathtub with shower head and curtain
· 1 storage/laundry room - Not really sure what this room is for, but there are lots of extra hangers in there as well as an ironing board and an iron.
· 2 community rooms - One was once used as a computer room, not anymore. The other has TV without cable, but the antenna picks up the basic channels.

4th Floor or 3rd according to the elevator - Sisters' rooms:
· Basically the same as the third floor but with fewer bedrooms.

Washington Street

Rent: $265/month, utilities and $60 deposit included (for 12 months)

Phone: Same as above

Food:Varies.

Washington Street Apartment houses three NDA members. This housing is located in downtown Baltimore allows volunteers to live more closely with the people that they are serving.

Notre Dame Mission Volunteers - AmeriCorps
403 Markland Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21212
Phone:(410) 532-6864 - Fax: (410) 532-2418

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