Seniors are finding young roommates and enhanced companionship
MELBOURNE: Thousands of vacant lots that could be used for housing, but remain empty. Affordable home options shrinking. Aging Californians staying in their too-big homes, limiting market availability.
Alas, you get the point. But as I was reporting that last story, I stumbled upon a trend that left me with some unexpected warm fuzzies: an uptick in intergenerational roommates.
An increasing number of California seniors with extra space in their homes — often empty nesters — are considering bringing in younger roommates to help pay bills and, in the process, provide renters with affordable housing. For both parties, there’s the added bonus of companionship, which studies have shown has a slew of benefits.
“I enjoy the company, and these younger folks, they keep me on my toes,” said Rudy Ramirez, a homeowner who used a local nonprofit to find renters for his three-bedroom home in the Bay Area enclave of Foster City. “I’m 74 years young!”
His 31-year-old housemate, Sarah Lawlor, pays him $900 a month for her room, a price she can afford as a childcare provider at a local fitness center — and about a quarter of the going rate for a one-bedroom apartment in the area.
“It’s very exhausting when you’re unstable,” Lawlor said of her prior housing situation, bouncing between family members’ homes. “I think I hit the jackpot. … Rudy’s been a godsend.”
A win-win
Housing experts call home sharing like this a win-win, particularly in California’s extremely tight housing market, where seniors have few affordable options for downsizing and renters face high housing costs or excessively long commutes. The concept could be particularly useful as California’s population continues to age: Almost a third of the state’s residents are expected to be 60 or older by 2040, according to state data. Currently, about 20% of those 60 and older live alone.
“The amount of extra rooms that are available in people’s homes could make a significant impact in providing affordable housing,” said Laura Fanucchi, director of programs for HIP Housing, a nonprofit in San Mateo County that helps match “home providers,” such as Ramirez, with “home seekers,” like Lawlor.
HIP Housing is one of the oldest such nonprofits doing this work, operating since 1979, but new programs continue to pop up and expand across the state and country as the interest — and need — rises.
“The demand is ever growing,” said Lucie Ashley, director of operations for Home Match, a nonprofit that provides similar services in San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa and Marin counties, with plans to expand to Santa Clara and Los Angeles counties. “The cost of housing just keeps going up and building housing takes time. Home sharing programs are a great way to meet an immediate need.”
When Home Match first started in 2012 in Marin County, most of the interest came from seniors who wanted task-oriented support from a roommate, such as rides to appointments or help taking out trash, Ashley said. But in recent years, financial need has become the main driver, which has shifted the group’s aim to homelessness prevention.
“Home sharing is the only thing they can afford,” Ashley said, calling many clients “house rich, cash poor.”
As older adults have become the fastest-growing group facing homelessness across California, Ashley said the home sharing model can provide these seniors with some breathing room — though she makes clear this model isn’t a fix-all for California’s complex housing crisis.
“You still need to build, and you still need to do other things, but it can be a useful thing to utilize existing stock while you’re working on other options,” Ashley said.
‘A second father to me’
Lawlor moved into Ramirez’s house in March, improving her commute time, but also providing her with a comfortable and stable home. The roommates sometimes eat meals together and share household chores.
“Rudy and I just hit it off,” Lawlor said. “Rudy’s like a second father to me. This is probably the best place I’ve ever lived in my whole life.”
Though most people are driven to such programs by financial need, Ashley said she can’t overstate “the importance of the social connection.”
“It’s engendering this community that wouldn’t otherwise be created,” Ashley said. “This greater connection that would not otherwise happen.”