Increased Government funding is helping more home sharing schemes that help seniors remain in their homes longer.
What is home sharing?
Home share works when a householder provides a bedroom and shared facilities in their home. In exchange, the home sharer provides approximately 10 hours per week of low-level practical assistance such as cooking, cleaning, shopping and gardening. In addition, the home sharer provides company and added security.
And it’s becoming a more popular way to help both seniors and young people.
Holdsworth Community’s HomeShare program targets isolated seniors and young people looking for safe, affordable housing in northern, central and south-eastern Sydney.
Since its launch in 2017, Holdsworth has had almost 500 enquiries from owners and sharers. HomeShare has been supported financially by NCOSS, icare, NSW Liveable Communities Program, City of Sydney Council, Waverley Council, Woollahra Council, E B Myer Charity Fund, Kickstarter Macquarie Bank Foundation and Enid Irwin Charitable Trust.
Now the State Government is chipping in with the Department of Communities and Justice recently granting Holdsworth Community $200,000 to support the HomeShare program, which means people aged 18-24 may be eligible to have their fees waived for their first year in HomeShare.
Care Connect also offers Homeshare, a government-funded program in Melbourne’s northwest.
It’s an interesting concept – and one that does go some way to addressing the issue of social isolation.
Will we see more of these programs pop up?
