Homesharing - A Potential Alternative

 

An emerging lifeline for older adults...

The pandemic and our nation’s health system have had resounding results on where and how people live. This is especially true among older adults with increasing health concerns about retirement communities and assisted living facilities.

In addition to the potential for infection, most facilities are currently excluding visitors and sequestering residents, posing the significant health risk of social isolation. There are well-documented negative emotional and physical impacts of living alone with little human interaction.

Many older Americans are moving in with their adult children in order to avoid further health risks and keep isolation at bay until the pandemic subsides. However, as most of us can probably imagine, living in close quarters with family members can be a source of stress for all parties involved.

As a result, adult children become sandwiched between the needs of their parents and those of their own children.

Thus, the concept of homesharing — where homeowners rent out unused space in their homes to like minded long-term roommates. This is an emerging lifeline for aging adults during turbulent times.

This provides aging adults with an alternative to communal living situations and still maintain their independence and avoid social isolation. Due to lower housing costs and split expenses, this arrangement can be a financial lifeline for both parties.

The adult children can support their parents in the process of choosing the optimal roommate and homes haring arrangement. The new roommate provides social connection, help with household upkeep and quite often unexpected friendship.

Home sharing can be a viable option for tens of thousands of americans finding themselves in need of extra income, an affordable living situation, or just another person to make living alone a little less isolating.

Emergency contact information should be kept current and shared with the roommate in a secure physical location. Copies of health insurance cards, primary physician contact information and lists of known allergies and medications should also shared.

It would be smart to have a friendly conversation about ground rules and keeping things comfortable between roommates. The are agreements available online with all the things you might need to think about.

If you are looking for a new roommate, you might want to consider using FaceTime, Zoom or other videoconferencing tools to conduct interviews and get to know prospects virtually.

Sometimes circumstances lead us to places that we don’t expect. If you’re up for it, this arrangement can save you a lot of money and loneliness. If you’ve got a big house and you live alone, you might be interested in opening up to this concept.