A Village of Your Own
by Candes Meisenheimer

There’s a new diet out that’s supposed to treat autism with reportedly excellent results. You research it and find out that it makes perfect sense to you: you want to try it! Then you start researching how much it will cost you to do it.

You’re feeling guilty over not being able to cook a ‘home cooked’ meal for your family each night, but since you work full time you find you can’t spare an extra hour or 2 each day to do it.

You’re single and on a small or fixed income. You’d love to try out the new diets and do your own cooking but you can’t afford the ingredients and even if you could you have no clue what to do with them.

You’ve made the decision to homeschool and are confidant in your choice. Wanting to benefit from the experience of others you set off on a quest to find that perfect homeschooling association only to find there isn’t one that fits your needs or your family’s lifestyle anywhere near you.

You’ve decided to ‘go organic’ but realize you can’t afford to buy everything from the store so you decide to start a garden… now what?

What do all of these things have in common? They’re problems that can be solved by forming your own common interests group. From union to guild to club the idea of the common interests group has been around for thousands of years. But how does one go about forming one, especially if you don’t know anyone else in your area with the same issues and interests as you?

In this series we will explore the options available and group structure plans for forming various kinds of common interests groups. One not need a ton of money to form a group, just one other person and an ambition to do something positive.

Candes Meisenheimer
APOV on Autism Editor in Chief
Candes can be contacted at candes@asdrendrewolf.org

Have a story to share about group projects or tips on saving money? Email us your story at: submit@asdrendrewolf.org