Matchmaking for roommates: Program will pair Stanislaus seniors with housing providers
Saundra Robinson never imagined she’d be couch surfing after she retired.
But ever since she faced an unexpected eviction in 2017, the former nurse has been unsuccessfully looking for a place to live. Robinson, who lives in Modesto, said she never was given a cause for her eviction and paid her rent steadily for 15 years.
She rented a series of rooms across the city while her belongings sat in a storage unit. Eventually, even that became too expensive, and Robinson, who relies on Social Security payments for her income, began staying with acquaintances and friends.
All throughout this process, she’s been looking for an affordable apartment or a room to rent, with no luck. Since she was evicted from the building she lived in for over a decade, rent prices have increased dramatically across the county, and Robinson no longer can afford them.
“At my particular age, there’s no reason I should be out here,” the senior citizen said. “There’s no reason I should be sleeping on anyone’s sofa, there’s no reason this should happen.”
In February, Robinson was referred to the Senior Advocacy Network (SAN), a nonprofit that provides free legal aid services to seniors in Stanislaus County, and learned about its new HomeShare program, which launched in June.
Connecting seniors with rooms and roommates
HomeShare will link room seekers with home providers, facilitate background checks free of charge and assist with moving and mediation if needed, said Hannah Brady, SAN’s housing program coordinator.
The program has yet to house an applicant. So far, it’s received 15 applicants from room seekers, but none from interested home providers.
“I think housing is obviously one of the biggest issues in Stanislaus County for people of all ages and it’s a growing issue specifically for seniors,” said Brady. Her boss, Joyce Gandelman, who also serves on the county’s Commission on Aging, said that about a year ago, commission members discussed the obstacles seniors were facing when it came to housing.
She said seniors, whose demographic is growing more than the general population in the county, often face years on waiting lists for affordable housing. Therefore, if a senior needs to move out within two months, he or she wouldn’t have anywhere to immediately go.
Finding housing is difficult for anyone in the current market and with a nationwide inventory shortage. But seniors, who often live on a fixed income that’s less than $1,000 a month and have limited funds, are hit especially hard.
Add to that the complications of looking for housing during a pandemic — where in-person viewings were often impossible, and most of the process moved online — and seniors find themselves at a disadvantage.
Traditional senior living communities also can be hard to access. Many have years-long waiting lists, and for individuals who need housing quickly, there aren’t many options. Since the launch of Tower Park in 2016, Modesto hasn’t built another senior housing complex. “We thought this (program) would be an immediate help,” Gandelman said.
Jamie Shipman is an attorney focusing on eviction and homelessness defense at the Senior Law Project, a group within the SAN.
When seniors face evictions, Shipman helps them navigate the court system and assists in transitioning them to new housing, as well as providing referrals to the HomeShare program.
The eviction process “puts a really great level of stress on … the seniors trying to find something,” she said. “Our main goal is to keep people from ending up homeless, and to keep evictions off their record so that it makes it easier for them to find housing.”
Evictions can complicate housing applications and reflect poorly on an applicant’s ability to pay their rent, making it more difficult to get approved by a landlord.
Matchmaking without the romance
Most HomeShare programs use an algorithm to pair potential roommates, but Brady said she’s going through every application by hand to make sure personalities align. “HomeShare is like matchmaking without the romance,” she said. Brady added that the program exists in communities across the nation, with California being the state with the most HomeShare programs.
Brady said the application asks questions about habits and personalities, like how often an applicant is in the kitchen and if the person tends to be sociable or solitary. Applicants must also have two references. Once she sees a match, she will run background checks on both parties and then ask them to come in and meet.
If the parties agree for a trial run, Brady said an agreement is set for two weeks to a month, followed by a final agreement. In the final agreement, the signing parties can negotiate chores in exchange for rent deduction.
Brady says the program is open to people of all ages, but data shows that it’s seniors who most need housing assistance.
Although the program doesn’t provide direct monetary assistance, Brady said shared housing is a viable option for the Housing Choice Voucher. If the housing provider agrees to accept the voucher, it would pay about 70% of the rent and the renter would be responsible for the balance.
In order to qualify, applicants must already be moved in. Brady said she can help people apply, but the application takes a couple of months to be processed.
Home providers don’t have to be seniors, but they must provide self-certification that they’re authorized to rent the home, Brady said. Participating parties will sign a lodger’s agreement, instead of a rental agreement, which will give extra protection to the home provider.
Brady believes this should help home providers make that leap of faith to try the program. This is because the home provider wouldn’t need to go through an eviction procedure like a landlord would to move someone out.
Brady said both parties have the right to end the contract at any time. However, a home provider who wants to evict a lodger must provide that person with a written notice, according to the California Department of Consumer Affairs. The amount of notice must be the same as the number of days between rent payments.
SAN will also follow up via phone periodically to make sure things are OK between providers and renter.
A pilot program with the potential to grow
Robinson, the retired nurse, said she heard about the success of programs like HomeShare in other cities, and immediately saw the option as a great fit.
She already has filled out her application with SAN and is waiting on a placement.The prospect of living with roommates is a welcome one, she said, adding that at her age, living alone is not ideal.
“It’s something that needs to be expanded for other people who need housing,” she said
Seniors interested in providing a room who need help clearing the space can contact SAN for moving assistance free of charge.
Monetary support for the HomeShare pilot program has been provided through the CARES Act and the Stanislaus Senior Foundation. Brady says once funding runs out in September, the organization hopes the city, community leaders or other nonprofits will help to continue financing the program.
For more information, including how to apply, contact Brady at 209-577-3814. Those interested can also stop by their Modesto office, at 821 13th Street Suite C.
This story was produced with financial support from the Stanislaus Community Foundation, along with the GroundTruth Project’s Report for America initiative. The Modesto Bee maintains full editorial control of this work.
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This story was originally published July 6, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
