A 200-acre residential community located in LaPorte County, Indiana, Sharing Meadows consists of five villages: the Village of St. John, the Village of St. Vincent, the Village of St. Theresa, the Village St. Jane & St. Joan, and the village of St. Mary & St. Joseph. Each village is comprised of three homes, with each home being inhabited by two other-abled adults and a full-time steward. The Villagers (residents) have very full lives, adhering to daily work schedules that alternate their vocational training between bird feeder and birdhouse construction, ceramics workshops, and computer labs. One of the most visionary vocations the other-abled engage in is the planting of thousands of fruit-bearing trees and bushes. This enterprise not only beautifies and improves the land, but it firmly solidifies our economic future by yielding salable goods and food for the villagers – a mini-industry with the potential for significant long-term results.
Five villages make up the Sharing Meadows residential community. Each village has three houses, with two villagers and one steward per house. The villages are located on 185 acres in rural Indiana, where villagers are able to spend their free time at the swimming pool, by the lake, or in the woods.
The residents work on the grounds five days a week, keeping Sharing Meadows beautiful and clean. When they are not at work, the residents are free to relax at home, spend time in town, or whatever they choose. Stewards are always with the residents to provide companionship and guidance, and also to help the villagers meet their personal goals.
This domestic environment is a unique opportunity for the residents to live as independently as possible, while being supported in a family-like surrounding. Villagers take pride in their work and have formed many meaningful relationships with each other and with the stewards.
Occasionally we have openings for new villagers in the residential community at Sharing Meadows. Feel free to reach out, and let’s get the conversation started.
We have 200 acres of land halfway between South Bend and Michigan City, adjacent to the Toll Road. The land offers a rural setting with a lake and woods with fruit and nut trees, plants, and small gardens.
The SHARE Foundation emphasizes education and views it as a community endeavor, not separate and apart from education and vocational training for other-abled people. To that end, we have often referred to our organization as a training ground for those grappling with life’s choices. Several years ago, a graduate of Notre Dame postponed medical school to live at Sharing Meadows for a year as a steward in one of the villages. After his year of service, he went on to complete medical school, and he still interacts with the villagers, not as a steward any longer, but as their doctor. Clearly, his time at Sharing Meadows still affects his life both professionally and personally. Our hope is that everyone who serves at Sharing Meadows will be able to apply what they have learned here to many aspects of their life.
Hundreds of college students have interned at SHARE Foundation summer camps as counselors and directors. These students have left SHARE to pursue careers in related fields such as special education, physical therapy, and social work. The SHARE Foundation experience teaches students tolerance, patience, and a greater understanding of what it means to have special needs.