Homeshare

Homeshare is the exchange of housing for help in the home. A householder, typically an older person with a spare room, offers free or low-cost accommodation to another person in exchange for an agreed level of support. The support may include companionship, shopping, household tasks, gardening, care of pets and, increasingly, help to use the computer. Homeshare thus provides a solution to the needs of two groups of people - those in need of affordable housing, often younger people, and those in need of some support to live at home, usually older people. Homeshare programmes, many run by voluntary bodies, have taken root in at least thirteen countries worldwide, some of them with public funding.

Homeshare was originally set up to benefit older people who needed support to live independently, but the concept is flexible and can be adapted to meet local needs and circumstances. Homeshare is directly benefiting many people across the globe, including:

The direct benefits to a Householder include; help with daily living, companionship and the security of having someone in the house, especially at night. There are even recorded instances of homesharers saving lives; for example a German homesharer called the emergency services when the householder had a heart attack. Other benefits include: breaking down the barriers between generations and different cultures, fostering mutual understanding and tolerance. For instance, in an Australian program, an elderly Italian lady successfully shared her home with a Pakistani Muslim homesharer.

Others benefit indirectly. Families of Householders speak of the reassurance that their loved one has someone in the house, looking out for their welfare. Public services benefit too, as homeshare can delay the need for costly services such as residential care.

The following case study from the UK indicates how homeshare can benefit an older and a younger person.

Homeshare programmes are diverse in terms of how they operate. Some are run on a ‘counselling’ model, whereby programme coordinators screen potential candidates, match them skilfully, negotiate a contract, monitor the outcome and provide ongoing support to both parties (called ‘match-up programs’ in the USA). Others are run on the ‘referral’ model, where the programme coordinators interview applicants and suggest matches, and it is then up to the applicants to take the arrangements forward. Many USA programs offer both approaches.

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Wikipedia