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Homeshare is a simple way of helping people to help each other. A Homeshare involves two people with different sets of needs, both of whom also having something to offer. Firstly, people who have a home that they are willing to share but are at a stage in their life where they need some help and support. These people are known as Householders. Secondly, people who need accommodation and who are willing to give some help in exchange for somewhere to stay. These people are known as Homesharers.

 

By putting these two people together Homeshare manages to find the Householder the help, support and security they need. At the same time Homeshare finds the Homesharer a place to call home, possibly rent free and maybe in an area or property that would have been financially out of their reach.

 

Both people, their families and communities benefit from the arrangement and the costs are very low.

 

 

Many housing and/or support services inadvertently place the user of the services in the position of “recipient” and the people who provide that service in the powerful position of “provider”. However hard people try and minimise this obvious power imbalance it is always part of the arrangement and can affect the way the service is provided and received. In Homeshare both the Householder and the Homesharer are gaining from the arrangement and feel valued and respected for whatever they are contributing. This allows them both to enter the Homeshare arrangement with dignity and enthusiasm.

 

 

Homeshare is run by a Homeshare Programme that employs a Homeshare Co-ordinator. The Co-ordinator has the task of finding suitable Householders and Homesharers and introducing them to each other. Co-ordinators also provide any help and support that the Householder or Homesharer need in order to keep the Homeshare arrangement working well for both parties.

 

 

 

 

Mrs. Booth is 82 years old and has a Homesharer called Nina with whom she has shared her home for a year. Mrs. Booth has a husband who has dementia and who lives in a nursing home in a nearby town.

 

Mrs. Booth has a large number of friends, family and community links and loves to entertain and keep in touch with people. As Mrs. Booth has got older she has lost the confidence to be able to drive and this has resulted in her finding it difficult to maintain her friendships and relationships. More importantly Mrs. Booth found it difficult to visit her husband which was very distressing for both of them.

 

As part of the Homeshare arrangement Nina is able to drive Mrs. Booth to visit her husband every day and to spend time with her friends. Nina also supports Mrs. Booth to cook and entertain at home and to maintain her links within her community. Mrs Booth was also very nervous in the house on her own at night. Having Nina sleeping in the house has given Mrs Booth real peace of mind.

 

 

Omar is 45 years old and until recently worked as an Architect and lived in a large 3 bedroom house in a leafy suburb of a large town. Last year Omar became ill very suddenly and the illness meant that he had to stay in hospital for 3 months. When the time came for Omar to leave hospital everyone recognised that he was too weak to fully support himself on his own at home.

Tom is a 27 year mature student who has come to the UK from Canada to study Human Geography at the local university. Tom has limited financial resources and accommodation near to the university is extremely expensive.

 

The Homeshare Programme matched Omar and Tom together in a Homeshare match. This arrangement meant that Omar would not be discharged from hospital to an empty house which gave the medical professionals the confidence to let Omar go home. Omar’s stay in hospital could have been much longer if Tom had not been in place as a Homesharer.

 

Omar and Tom get on well, have a number of common interests and enjoy spending time together. Tom does any heavy or difficult tasks in the home and keeps the garden tidy. Tom and Omar walk Tom’s two dogs together every day which has enabled Omar to build up his health and strength.

Omar’s health has steadily improved and his consultant at the hospital is very pleased with his progress. Omar will soon be ready to go back to work and once Tom’s course finishes in 3 months time he will go back to Canada and Omar will  be ready to live on his own once again.

 

Cally is 25 and lives in small market town in a two bed-roomed flat that she has bought through a shared ownership scheme run by a local Housing Association. Cally has lived for most of her life with her parents and has never gained the skills or confidence to live on her own.

 

Cally lives with her Homesharer, Kat, who is also 25 and works as an administrator for the local council. Kat really values the chance to live in the flat, rent free, and be so near to her place of work. Cally does not really see food as important and often forgets to eat properly. Kat helps Cally to plan and prepare meals and the two women often sit down together to eat and to share stories about their day. Cally finds it very difficult to meet people and to make friends because she has limited social skills. Kat and Cally will sometimes socialise together, going out and meeting people on an evening and weekend.

 

Cally’s Mum is very close to her daughter and keeps in regular contact. Mum gives Kat some support and advice to help her to gain the skills and confidence that she needs to support Cally well.

 

 

Anna is a student nurse who moved to Sydney, Australia from Europe. Anna was very concerned about the cost of housing in Sydney especially in any area close enough to the place where she works and studies. Anna contacted the Homeshare Programme run by the Benevolent Society in Sydney and was successfully matched to live with Irene.

 

Irene has a beautiful house that overlooks the harbour that she has lived in for many years. At the top of the house are a bedroom, bathroom, small sitting area and outside terrace that are used by Anna. The area in which the house is situated is one of the most expensive in Sydney and Anna would never have been able to consider living there without Homesharing.

 

Anna is able to use a moped to get to work and college and has also saved money and resources she would have used to travel had she lived elsewhere. Anna has saved money and hopes to buy a place of her own in the near future once her studies are over and she gets a full time nursing position

 

There are currently 5 Homeshare Programmes in England in West Sussex, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Bristol and London with a 6^th programme emerging in Somerset. In West Sussex and Oxfordshire the programmes are pilots, set up by NAAPS in partnership with the Local Authority and Oxford Brookes University to try and demonstrate the worth of the Practice Guide and the Homeshare model.

 

 

Dawn Blake, West Sussex Homeshare Coordinator, dawn@naaps.org.uk or 01243 752026

 

Victoria Harwood, Oxfordshire Homeshare Coordinator Victoria@naaps.org.uk or 01235 469547

 

Cathy Mandaza, Manager Homeshare, London,  hsinfo@homesharelondon.com or 020 7376 4558

 

Audrey Heard, Homeshare Coordinator, Bristol, enquiries@homesharewest.org or 0117 908 3045

 

Susan Verity, Homeshare Co-coordinator, Wiltshire, susanverity@wiltshire.gov.uk or 01225 757542, or 07733 091915

 

Angela Catley, NAAPS Homeshare Project Manager angela@naaps.org.uk or 07764 469350