And the location of his current place couldn't be better. It is right in the middle of downtown Carrboro -- easier for him since he walks with a cane.

O'Briant, 50, lives in one of the 24 units in the Club Nova Apartments, a complex for adults with mental illness or other disabilities. Like his neighbors, he pays a lower rent because of the benefits he qualifies for.

"You can't get more convenient! This is how I grew up: with everything around me," said O'Briant, who has hydrocephalus, a buildup of fluid in the brain. "It's a godsend."

Similarly, Anne Jackson likes to shop at nearby Harris Teeter, drop by Cliff's Meat Market a few strides down West Main Street and take drawing classes at The ArtsCenter just a few blocks away.

At her old apartment in Durham, Jackson, who said she has chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia, was friends with just two people in her complex.

Now, at Club Nova Apartments, she can list name after name of people she can put a puzzle together with or invite to events such as Chapel Hill's Festifall this past weekend.

"I know the people here," said Jackson, 59. "I've known these people for a long time."

She met them through the Club Nova clubhouse. Because of the connection they already have, she said, it's more natural for them to meet up and do things together.

For these reasons -- community, support and affordability -- Club Nova Apartments is receiving a Housing North Carolina Award today in Greensboro.

Good looks, good price

The three-story apartment complex opened two years ago behind the Club Nova clubhouse at 103 W. Main St. The nonprofit organization helps people with mental illness become part of the larger community and get training to find work.

Margaret Matrone, spokeswoman for the N.C. Housing Finance Agency, said Club Nova Apartments is receiving the award based on how the structure looks, its affordability and the organization's creativity in pulling the financing together, among other things.

Local architect Giles Blunden designed the small units, which are less than 400 square feet, to be energy-efficient. They feature a solar energy system and brick floors that help to heat water and keep the units warm.

"We insisted on brick [floors] from the beginning," said Karen Dunn, Club Nova's executive director. "They look good, and they have such an emotional warmth."

That is key for resident Geoff Seng. "It's a solar-heating place!" Seng said. "That's what really turns me on about it."

Josh Hines, 27, said both the clubhouse and apartments are a place where he can relax and be a part of the community.

"You have at least one place to go," said Hines, who moved in when the complex opened. "It's like living in a village or something."

O'Briant feels the same.

"Where I lived before, people did their own thing," he said, sitting in the clubhouse Tuesday afternoon. "They're not drawn together like they are here.

"I did not appreciate the value of a home [before]," he added. "I appreciate it now. It's truly a great thing back there."