We live with the loss of a spouse, a pet, a child, of money, of security of health, mobility, freedom from pain. We are all living with loss, and surrounded by people who visibly slow down, waste away, wither, and die, reminding each of us of mortality. The impact of bullying in multifamily housing is severe, and adds to the stresses of age and disability. Bullying is harmfulīullying is a particularly acute problem in multifamily subsidized housing-it cries out for remedy. Bullying is bad for the institution as well as for everyone in the institution-the housing provider, bystanders, staff, service providers, and also for the perpetrators-those who bully. Bullying has a terrible impact on victims, causing stress, emotional pain, mental disease, and physical disease.

live under condominium or homeowners associations, and relationships in the governance of these associations can be intense and bitter.īullying in the residential community restricts a victim’s rights as a tenant and citizen and is therefore a civil rights and human rights violation. They note that some 50 million people in the U.S. Maureen Duffy and Len Sperry (1) have found that mobbing, an extreme form of bullying, can take place in every type of community group. Bullying targets elderly and disabled people, including those living in public or subsidized multifamily apartment housing, but it is also a problem in many upscale residential settings. Impact of bullying on elderly and disabledīullying is a contagious social disease that flourishes in the absence of a legitimate social order, creates a toxic environment and an unhealthy community life, all while causing psychological and physical harm to victims.Ībout one quarter of elderly people living independently are the victims of bullying.

A Tree for Max by Jerry Halberstadt