New Program Helps the Senior Demographic Balance Expenses

Dec. 14, 2010 - PRLog -- In 2006, the Census Bureau found that 7.4 million women and 2.7 million men age 65 and older were living alone. Even more significant, 12 percent of those women and seven percent of those men were living in poverty. At a time when income may be decreasing because of retirement and when expenses could be increasing because of medical bills, ‘match-up programs’ are helping seniors find others to share their homes or find a room to rent in another’s home to offset expenses, allowing the seniors to remain independent and ‘age in place’.

While not limited to just seniors, more and more seniors are experiencing benefits from this arrangement. The benefits of homesharing include continued independence, rental income, household help, transportation, safety, companionship, and peace of mind for the senior and often times their families.

A senior who offers their home as a rental can request that the renter pay rent only or ask that services, such as shopping, transportation or cleaning, be provided by their renter in lieu of a portion of rent money depending on their needs. The price of the rent is negotiated based on these requests.

When Lynn Harnett, contacted the Center of Concern in Park Ridge, IL, she was looking for a companion for her mother who could act as eyes and ears for the family. Her mother was capable of living alone but needed some assistance because she didn’t drive anymore. The woman she found to rent a room in her mother’s home was in her 50’s and was glad to provide help with errands, plus offered companionship.

“It has just worked out so well for all of us,” Harnett says.

When Alternative Living for the Aging in Hollywood, California matched up Jean Mathison, an 80 something retired interior designer, with Muriel Delomeaus, a 50 something French masseuse, both women had specific needs. Jean needed someone to help with rent, light housework, errands and a bit of supervision given a previous fall. Muriel needed an inexpensive place to live. Both women have been rewarded with not only getting what they needed but companionship and support they could not have found elsewhere.

“I’m living in a wonderful environment with a wonderful lady,’ said Muriel.

The match-up process varies from agency to agency, but generally the steps that the applicant will go through are:

1.  Applying – Both home provider and home seeker submit an application.
2.  Interview – In-person interviews with a program representative for both home provider and home seeker increases the chances of a good match.
3.  Home visit – The program representative will visit the home being offered.
4.  Check references – Home seekers may be asked for references and fingerprints in an effort to check the background of that individual.
5.  Match-up – When the program representative feels there is a good match, the prospective housemates meet, typically at the home, to decide for themselves it they are a good match.
6.  Homeshare agreement – At the time that both home provider and home seeker are ready to become roommates, a homeshare agreement is drawn up. This is a legal document that lines out the rental price, services to be provided by the renter, and other stipulations in the arrangement.
7.  Mediation services – Some match-up programs will provide mediation services if needed between the home provider and the renter after the match is final.

The homeshare agreement is an important legal document which includes information such as rent amount, due date, types of services to be provided and the hours when the services are required, terms and notice for withdrawing from the program, and any restrictions such as if smoking or pets are not allowed. Even if a match-up program is not being used to find a roommate, all living arrangements of this type should include some kind of legally enforceable homeshare agreement. An attorney would be able to help with this.

While there are over 100 match-up programs in the United States, not every state has one. Some are fee-based, but many are free to consumers. To locate match-up programs and homeshare opportunities, these resources may be helpful:

•  National Shared Housing Resource Center – www.nationalsharedhousing.org
•  Local office on aging  - www.aoa.gov  or www.eldercare.gov
•  Regional housing agencies – Agencies and nonprofits that provide housing services. These may include names like ‘housing authority’ or ‘housing coalition’.

While programs vary in what they offer for match-up services, seniors and their families are finding that the benefits of homesharing present the opportunity to stay in their own homes or the home of another person where the needs of both parties can be met, friendships developed, and an ideal living environment created.

The Society of Certified Senior Advisors (SCSA), provides free resources and tools for our members as an ongoing commitment that we have in helping professionals to understand the complex and dynamic lives of modern senior citizens.

To obtain a copy of this free handout, please visit the Free Resources section of the CSA website, http://www.csa.us/freeresources.

About SCSA
SCSA’s mission is to educate professionals to work more effectively with their senior clients. For those who work with seniors, this means understanding the key health, social and financial factors that are important to seniors—and how these factors work together. CSAs are able to integrate this into their professional practices, no matter what field they’re in. They’ve learned how incredibly gratifying it is to help seniors achieve their goals, and the seniors they’ve worked with have learned how important it is to work with someone who truly understands their age-related circumstances. For more information about SCSA and its educational course, please visit www.csa.us.


Contact:
Erica Ananich, SCSA
(888) 538-2599
society@csa.us


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References

Alternative Living for the Aging – www.alternativeliving.org
Administration on Aging – www.aoa.gov
Credit Union National Association – www.cuna.org
Eldercare Locator – www.eldercare.gov
National Shared Housing Resource Center – www.nationalsharedhousing.org
Nolo Legal Solutions – www.nolo.com
Smart Money – www.smartmoney.com

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SCSA educates professionals to work more effectively with their senior clients. That means understanding the key health, social & financial factors that are important to seniors — so you can find success in the senior market.