Housing: Alternative Options

Shared housing can be best defined as facilities accommodating at least two unrelated individuals, at least one of whom is over sixty years of age, and in which common living spaces are shared. It is a program that targets single- and multifamily homes and adapts them for elderly residents. The typical number of elderly is three or four. The most easily recognized benefit of shared housing is that of companionship. It is also a means of keeping the elderly in their own homes while helping to provide them with the economic means to maintain there.

Shared housing may be forbidden by zoning laws in some suburban communities, especially wealthy ones. Often, however, local housing authorities promote shared housing by matching applicants.

Benefits include decreasing loneliness, maintaining the helping role, saving money through shared costs, having a greater sense of security, avoiding institutionalization, providing an alternative to living with children, and maintaining normal neighborhood living and freedom of activities.