practical living
Sharing is caring
New HomeShare model
benefits both young and old.
By Conor Burke
O
ne is fussy, one is laid back. One
is punctual and clean, the other
is messy and always late. One is
young, the other is old.
This isn’t another reboot of The Odd
Couple, but the potential pairings tossed up
by a program being trialled in Sydney that is
designed to reduce the social isolation felt
by seniors and the financial strain felt by
younger people.
The new HomeShare program, led by
the not-for-profit Holdsworth Community
and with funding from Woollahra Municipal
Council, aims to pair an older home owner
with a younger Aussie in a house share in a
mutually beneficial arrangement.
The older home owner is able to remain
in their own home with an increased level
of safety and security and an improved
level of wellbeing, and the younger tenant
gets companionship and a cheaper place
to live.
Woollahra mayor Peter Cavanagh, who
launched the scheme, said: “This is a great
initiative, where the older people with
whole of life experience share wonderful
stories and histories and so forth, and we
can bring together some young people – it
can help those people’s stories live on.”
Matching the sharers is the job of a
Holdsworth coordinator, who liaises with
the homeowner to tailor the ‘share’ to
the individual. The coordinator conducts
rigorous background checks into the
potential tenant, including police checks,
references and several interviews.
The scheme is a fee-based service,
shared between the homeowner and
tenant, with the costs going only to cover
the cost of running the scheme.
It aims to solve two social issues with
one solution. Studies show that social
isolation can be as harmful to a person’s
health as a 15-a-day smoking habit, and
having a tenant and companion will seek
to combat any health issues associated
with loneliness.
For the potential tenant, Holdsworth
predicts that the agreements could be up
to a third of the price of average rent in
the commercial market, helping younger
people cope with the rising costs of
Sydney living.
Studies conducted into a similar
project, previously run in Victoria, showed
that homeshares reduce the usage of
subsidised residential care. Victorian
hospitals also benefited through savings
due to early householder discharge. And
the Department of Veterans’ Affairs showed
savings, again, due to less reliance on
subsidised units of community care.
This idea has been popularised
elsewhere. Schemes are run in 13 other
countries, including the UK, US, Japan,
France and Germany, and they all fall under
the HomeShare International banner.
Holdsworth aged care specialist Wendy
Francis worked on a similar project in
Western Australia, and bases her current
program on work by the Homeshare
Australia and New Zealand Alliance.
“The ideal outcome is to offer another
creative option for older people to enable
them to live positive, engaged lives in their
community. [It’s] another option for them
to consider whether they need to go into
residential care,” Francis said.
Ruth Kestermann, chief executive of
Holdsworth Community said: “We realised
what an amazing solution it is for Sydney if
you look at the huge housing affordability
crisis. We see loneliness and isolation in
this community, not just for older people,
but across the community.”
Kestermann took part in a recent
roundtable with the minister for senior
Australians and aged care, Ken Wyatt, who
passed on the idea, but there are hopes
that a successful run in Sydney will bring
some government funding.
“The reality is, as I understand it, that
with the funding options that are out there
now, it’s hard to make HomeShare fit into
those rigid models,” she said.
“We’re really convinced that we can
make this work as a financially sustainable
model, especially here in Sydney where
you’ve got demand for both sides of the
HomeShare match and equation ... without
government funding. I think it’s really
empowering to communities to be able to
solve those issues themselves,” she said.
Holdsworth is currently screening
applicants. To find out more, go to
holdsworth.org.au. ■
Homesharers Joan and Yve. Photo: Holdsworth
agedcareinsite.com.au 27