March 2017 Forum


Alicia Delashmutt
Founding Neighbor
Our Home, Inclusive Community Collaborative

Homes Not Housing Presented by Alicia Delashmutt & Joe Wykowski
Home is the foundation for us all. In this session we will share individual stories and talk about how local community resources and partnerships, available to everyone, can be used to create places called home. We will also share exciting progress on a local, intentionally inclusive, diverse neighborhood project in Portland, called Our Home – Cathedral Park.

Alicia DeLashmutt has a professional background in landscape design and commercial and residential interior design.  She is the founder of Our Home, Inclusive Community Collaborative and is the Founding Neighbor of Our Home – Cathedral Park, a co-housing inspired, intentionally diverse community in Portland, Oregon that includes people that want to age in a home of their choice, people who experience disability and people below median income. She is a frequent presenter on disability issues including the importance of community. She is the proud mother of a fabulous teenage girl whose interests include basketball, Fritos and opera.  Her daughter experiences Mowat-Wilson, a rare genetic syndrome whose effects are widespread and significant.  Alicia is a strong advocate and family mentor who believes that the inclusion of ALL, regardless of race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability or gender identity is necessary for a vibrant and healthy society.

Interested in reading more? Check out this Tash.org blog post: Building Communities support people with disabilities

Joe Wykowski, will speak on “Re-Thinking the Future of Housing; the Changing Landscape of Integrated Housing for People with Disabilities”.
Joe is the Executive Director of Community Vision, a Portland Oregon-based organization that provides an array of person-centered supports to individuals with disabilities to assist them to live, work and thrive in the communities of their choice. In addition to his work at Community Vision, Joe is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, and is a past executive board member of TASH, past president of the Oregon Home ownership Collaborative and has served in many other organizations. He consults with various housing coalitions across the country concerning the creation of individual housing opportunities and personal supports with persons with disabilities.