Home-Sharing Initiatives
Peel HomeShare
What is Peel HomeShare?
Peel HomeShare is a pilot program run by the National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly (NICE). The program matches older adults (55+) who would benefit from companionship, receiving rental income, and help around the house with a university or college student seeking affordable housing.
In exchange for a rental fee of $400 to $600 per month, the student provides up to seven hours per week of companionship and assistance with completing light household tasks, such as preparing and sharing meals, tidying up, carrying groceries, or walking a pet.
Trained social workers facilitate the Peel HomeShare program. Social workers match participants based on a variety of preferences and attributes, conduct Vulnerable Sector Screenings, facilitate initial meetings between participants, perform safety checks on all homes, and provide ongoing support in the form of regular follow-ups, mediation, and conflict resolution services.
How did Peel HomeShare come to be?
The Lab Team has engaged with stakeholders throughout the Solutions Lab to identify and understand emerging innovative seniors’ housing programs and housing models. Through key informant interviews, the Lab Team heard about the benefits a home-sharing program could bring to the Region of Peel.
The Lab’s Community Design Team corroborated these findings. In addition, the Community Design Team shared the importance of home-sharing as one way to address their housing needs.
This work led the Lab Team to engage with the National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly (NICE), which runs the Canada HomeShare program. Peel HomeShare is a part of the Canada HomeShare network.
Interested in learning more?
If you would like to learn more about HomeShare in Peel, visit the Peel HomeShare site.
Future Home-Sharing Initiatives
Pending the success of the Peel HomeShare pilot, other potential home- sharing initiatives have been identified:
A home-sharing program with a stream for students studying to be a personal support worker or new graduates from a PSW program
A home-sharing program with a stream for international students or caregiving professionals who could provide culturally relevant care to seniors in Peel