About Our Community
Welcome
Welcome to Innisfree Village, a lifesharing community nestled in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Crozet, Virginia. Since 1971, we have been dedicated to providing a nurturing and inclusive environment for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. At Innisfree, we believe in the power of community living, where every individual is valued and empowered to lead a fulfilling and challenging life. Our residents (called coworkers), volunteers, and staff live, work, and play together, creating a vibrant, supportive atmosphere that fosters personal growth, creativity, and a deep connection to nature.
Our community is built on principles of beauty, warmth, and respect, where individuals with and without disabilities are empowered to lead fulfilling lives through purposeful work, creative expression, and meaningful relationships. In this close-knit community, we offer a unique space where everyone can grow, contribute, and thrive. Explore our website to learn more about our community’s mission, the people who make Innisfree special, and how you can get involved in supporting this inspiring vision.
Guiding Principles
Innisfree shall:
Be a model therapeutic environment with people with intellectual disabilities, emphasizing empowerment, interdependence, and mutual respect of all community members
Evolve with the changing needs of the individuals with intellectual disabilities within the community and beyond
Value work and foster creativity through artistic crafts, stewardship of the land, and daily community life
Promote efforts in the stewardship of the land to acknowledge the reciprocal relationship between human health and the natural environment
Encourage the integration of community members into the larger society through participation in cultural, educational, recreational, religious, and volunteer programs
Rely for its financial resources upon family support, the spirit of volunteerism, and private funding
Support and encourage the talents and individuality of community members from diverse educational, national, ethnic, and social backgrounds
Glossary of Terms
At Innisfree Village, we we use a variety of distinct terms that are integral to understanding our community and its values. These terms provide insight into the way we live and interact, providing a reflection of our unique approach to community living and our support for individuals with disabilities. Here are some key terms to help better understand our community:
Coworker:
The adults with intellectual and/or physical disabilities who live at Innisfree. Folks as young as 21 may come to live at Innisfree and will stay here as long as possible.
Volunteer:
Volunteers come to live at Innisfree as residential caregivers for a minimum of 1 year. Innisfree volunteers are all ages, all ethnicities, and come with a variety of experience levels.
Lifesharing:
A way of life where folks of all ages and abilities come together to live and work together in a cohesive environment. Innisfree is a lifesharing community and encourages volunteers and coworkers alike to share their passions and abilities to create a diverse and accepting place to live and work.
Workstations:
Spaces on the Innisfree property where coworkers and volunteers go to learn new skills and contribute to the community during the day. This may include cooking lunch for a shared community meal in the Community Center Kitchen, assisting coworkers with art projects in the Art Studio, or turning compost in the Vegetable garden. Everyone attends workstations between 9am-3pm Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday though that may change according to a volunteer’s days off. Each workstation is lead by one or several “Workstation Heads”.
“Being a volunteer means being part of the life-SHARING community of Innisfree. As volunteers, we guide our coworkers through daily life but also big life events, we become friends, counselors, members of a family. We do not only embrace the coworkers with their interests, likes and dislikes, and peculiarities, but we also share all of our oddities, interests, etc. with them. Of course, this is not limited to our own house but extends to the entire community.”