Home-sharing programs are easing the financial burdens that threaten to overwhelm some elderly homeowners and renters.
By sharing their living quarters, these seniors are finding it`s possible to stay in their homes, divide the expenses, split the chores and enjoy new camaraderie.
The programs have been a particular boon to the elderly, who often must face rising taxes and inflation on a fixed income.
Oak Park Township has offered its no-cost intergenerational HomeSharing program since 1987, matching compatible individuals to share living arrangements, expenses and household duties. Participants have included students, singles, widows and widowers, and at least one person in each match must be age 60 or older. All home providers (though not home seekers) must live in Oak Park or neighboring River Forest.
Customized matches
”One of the biggest benefits of the program is that it`s very flexible,” says Maureen Brennan, Oak Park Township social services coordinator. ”The counselors really work with the participants to custom-design the match.
”One person may just be looking for companionship and doesn`t care about expenses, while another person wants his or her privacy but needs help with specific ideas about what they want, and our job is to match people. Each match is different.”
Home seekers and providers first call the Oak Park Township office to request an application. Home providers are asked what part and how much of their home they`re willing to share and what they`re looking for in return-such as payment of rent, help with household chores or some other form of assistance. Home providers and seekers are also asked a host of other questions, including whether they wish to live with a non-smoker and how old an individual they`d prefer.
Once an application is filled out and returned, trained counselors interview both home seekers and providers in their homes to get a better idea of what their needs are.
”By sitting down with the seeker or provider, the counselors can get a good feel for the person,” says Nancy Teclaw, Oak Park Township senior citizens director. ”The counselors visit people in their homes because you get a whole different perspective of the individual when you sit in his or her house and see the place they`re going to be sharing. Even with home seekers, it`s important to see how they live.”
”It`s also reassuring to home providers that counselors get to know the home seeker because people worry about taking someone into their home,” adds Brennan. ”When we think we have a potential match, we introduce the two people, and if they both think it`s going to work, we suggest a trial period of living together, from a weekend to about two weeks.”
Success stories
Since the program`s inception, a number of successful matches have been made. One such match was between a 62-year-old Oak Park homeowner who was heading back to college after raising nine children. She needed a little extra income and was matched with a woman in her 40s who paid rent in exchange for living space.
”The extra income that this woman received enabled her to stay in her home, finish her degree and not have to get a full-time job while she was pursuing her education,” says Brennan. ”This home-sharing arrangement lasted until she was through with school.”
Potential roommates don`t have to be 100 percent compatible, Teclaw says. ”They`re not going to get married.”
Both Brennan and Teclaw acknowledge that they`ve had to change their expectations when matching home seekers and providers.
”When we first started, we thought we could make matches that would last forever, for years and years. Now we realize, even if a match lasts only six months, that`s success,” Teclaw says.
Another successful home-sharing program is run by the Council for Jewish Elderly, whose headquarters are on Touhy Avenue in Chicago. The 10-year-old home-sharing program deals primarily with individuals who are looking for housing north of Diversey Avenue. The service is non-sectarian, and one person in the match must be age 60 or older. Furthermore, the home provider`s house or apartment must have at least two bedrooms.
”Our focus is to help older persons stay in their homes,” says case manager Lynn Nestuk. ”The program also eases seniors` financial burdens and provides companionship by helping older people not be so isolated.”
In-home assessments
Nestuk does a social assessment of each applicant and a medical assessment if the applicant is 60 or older. The home seeker visits the CJE office, while the home provider receives a personal visit from Nestuk.
After a thorough assessment, Nestuk tells each person about the other, then arranges for them to meet. One or two days later, Nestuk calls each party to find out whether or not a suitable match is possible. If so, a contract is signed stating the amount of rent to be paid and what services, if any, will be provided. Typically, the contract will stipulate that either party must give one month`s notice before ending the arrangement.
”Theekers-particularly those who have lived in their own apartments-to think the arrangement through and try a trial period before they give up their apartment,” Nestuk says. ”And once people are placed, I keep my nose out of it because there are things the two people have to work out themselves. Usually after a month, I`ll call to see how things are going.”
In Nestuk`s program, most women want other women to live with them and most men want women to share living arrangements, she said. ”A lot of men look at home-sharing as having someone to take care of them and most women don`t want to take care of anyone. And if they do, they want to be paid for it.”
Nestuk also gets numerous calls from individuals seeking 24-hour companion service.
”Our home-sharing program is not a 24-hour companion service and there`s never any nursing care involved. If someone is incontinent, that`s not covered in our program. We do get a lot of calls from people who want that type of service.”
Getting younger
Most recently, Nestuk has been getting more calls from younger people who are home providers. ”That used to be very rare,” she says. ”They want a roommate to share the rent.
”These younger people often want someone who will pay $475 plus utilities, and people who I get as home seekers are looking for a very inexpensive place to live.”
Typically, though, Nestuk notes, most home providers are older individuals who need someone to help with living expenses and perhaps provide some companionship and much-needed services-such as a Lake Shore Drive resident in her 90s who`s losing her vision, yet, according to Nestuk, ”is still sharp as a tack. There`s a woman in her 50s living with her; the young woman helps the older woman with all her paperwork and finances and spends time with her on the weekends and takes her shopping. It works out very well for both of them.”
