A Life-Sharing Model
Discover how shared living, meaningful relationships, and individualized supports create a community where everyone has opportunities for lifelong belonging, purpose, and growth.
Introduction to Life-Sharing
Life-sharing is built on a simple but powerful idea: people thrive when they live in genuine community with one another.
Rather than separating housing, supports, work, and social life, the life-sharing model brings them together in a way that encourages meaningful relationships, mutual support, and shared experiences. Every person has unique gifts, talents, and perspectives to contribute, and a strong community is one where everyone has opportunities to participate, grow, and belong.
Life-sharing extends beyond receiving services. Residents, support professionals, volunteers, and neighbors share in the everyday rhythms of community life—preparing meals, caring for gardens and animals, creating art, celebrating traditions, learning new skills, and supporting one another through life's joys and challenges. These shared experiences help build lasting friendships and a true sense of home.
Individualized supports remain an essential part of the community, but they are thoughtfully integrated into daily life rather than defining it. As residents' needs evolve over time, supports evolve with them, allowing people to remain in the home and community they know and love while continuing to live with dignity, purpose, and independence.
Life sharing is not simply a different way to provide housing—it is a different way of thinking about community. It is built on the belief that every person deserves the security of belonging to a community for life.
The Rhythm of Life-Sharing Communities
Life-sharing is shaped by shared experiences, meaningful routines, and opportunities for every person to contribute in ways that reflect their interests, strengths, and goals. Each day will look different, but each day will support building independence, relationships, and lifelong growth.
Meaningful Participation
People in life-sharing communities have opportunities to contribute through gardening, animal care, woodworking, food production, groundskeeping, creative enterprises, household responsibilities, and other activities that strengthen both personal skills and the community as a whole.
Creativity & Lifelong Learning
Creative expression is woven throughout community life. People may explore visual arts, crafts, music, theater, woodworking, and other creative pursuits that allow them to learn new skills and share their talents.
Connection to Nature
The surrounding landscape is an important part of daily life. Gardens, walking paths, outdoor gathering spaces, and seasonal traditions encourage recreation, stewardship of the land, and appreciation for Alaska's unique seasons.
Community & Well-Being
Shared meals, celebrations, volunteer opportunities, and neighborhood gatherings help build meaningful relationships and a strong sense of community. Guided by values of gratitude, compassion, dignity, and mutual respect, life-sharing communities welcome people of all cultures, faiths, and backgrounds and nurtures each person's physical, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being.
Guiding Philosophies
Wholeness of Every Person
Each person possesses unique gifts, strengths, and potential. We honor every person as a whole human being and create opportunities for those gifts to be recognized and developed.
Deliberate Reflection
Community life includes time for reflection, observation, learning, privacy, and personal growth. This practice helps deepen relationships and community connections.
Inclusive Community
Strong communities are built through shared experiences. Residents participate together in daily life, meaningful work, celebrations, and the care of the community.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is life-sharing?
Life-sharing is a community-centered approach to living that emphasizes meaningful relationships, shared experiences, and mutual support. Rather than separating housing, work, recreation, and daily life, people live and participate in community together. Residents, support professionals, volunteers, and neighbors contribute to the life of the community through everyday activities, creative pursuits, celebrations, and shared responsibilities. The goal is to create a lifelong community where every person is known, valued, and supported to pursue a full, meaningful life.
Is Ptarmigan Commons a group home?
No. Ptarmigan Commons is not a traditional group home. Instead of a single residence with a fixed number of occupants, it is designed as an intentional neighborhood made up of multiple homes and shared community spaces. Residents receive individualized supports based on their unique needs while remaining active participants in community life. The focus is on creating opportunities for independence, choice, meaningful relationships, and long-term belonging.
Is Ptarmigan Commons a facility?
No. Ptarmigan Commons is not a licensed facility. It is designed as a neighborhood where adults who experience intellectual and developmental disabilities live in real homes within a welcoming community. Residents remain connected to the broader Mat-Su Valley through employment, recreation, worship, healthcare, shopping, volunteer service, and other aspects of everyday life.
Who provides supports?
Residents will receive individualized supports from Hope Community Resources and other local provides based on their assessed needs and personal goals. Supports are designed to follow the person—not the home—and may evolve over time as needs change. This approach allows residents to age in place while remaining part of the community they know and call home.
Can residents age in place?
Yes. One of the guiding principles of intentional neighborhoods is that people can remain in the community they know and call home as their needs change over time. Individualized supports are designed to evolve alongside each person, allowing them to continue living in familiar surroundings, maintain meaningful relationships, and participate in community life throughout adulthood.
Will residents have their own home or private space?
Yes. Residents may share a home with one or more housemates, but everyone will have their own private bedroom and personal space. The community is designed to balance the benefits of shared living with opportunities for privacy, independence, and personal choice.
Can families remain involved?
Of course! Families are valued partners in the lives of their loved ones and will continue to play an important role. While Ptarmigan Commons is designed to provide long-term stability and reduce reliance on aging caregivers, families will always be welcome to visit, participate in community events, celebrate milestones, and remain connected in whatever ways are meaningful for them and their loved one.
Where will Ptarmigan Commons be located?
The vision is for Ptarmigan Commons to be located in the Palmer area of the Mat-Su Valley. While land has not yet been purchased, identifying and securing the right property is an important step in the planning and development process. We look forward to sharing updates as the project moves forward.
When will the community open?
The timeline for Ptarmigan Commons will depend on several factors, including fundraising, partnerships, land acquisition, permitting, and community development. Our goal is to open the community within the next few years, and we will continue to share project milestones and progress along the way.
