Share a Home in Denver

Sunshine Home Share Colorado (Sunshine) is a nonprofit that uses geriatric social workers to safely and thoughtfully bring together seniors with available space in their homes and others needing an affordable place to live.

This program tackles the affordable housing shortage currently facing the Denver metro area, while helping seniors receive the supportive services they need.

Denver is in a housing crisis. There is a shortage of over 22,000 affordable units and more than 55,000 seniors 65 and older living in single family residences in Denver County, many of whom are losing their homes due to high housing costs or being priced out of the housing market and needing to leave the metro area. Across the five metro counties, there are over 200,000 seniors in single family residences.

Home sharing decreases isolation, improves economic stability, increases access to transportation and household chores, while relieving caregiver burden. It also creates affordable housing, using existing housing stock. Sharing a home and allowing homeowners to earn extra income, while avoiding loneliness and giving back to someone who needs an affordable place to live is a win-win situation.

Sunshine was featured this year at the AARP booth during the Dragon Boat Festival, where attendants were asked the question, “How do you brighten your community?”

As a new nonprofit, Sunshine was thrilled to receive a generous donation from the AARP for $5,000.  Sunshine will also be presenting on a panel at the AARP Affordable Housing Conference this fall.

“AARP recognizes the need to be thinking about our aging services in a different way," said Alison L. Joucovsky, executive director of Sunshine Home Share Colorado. "If we are going to meet the demands of our community, we need to do things differently.”

Sunshine is currently looking for seniors 55 and older, who would like to share their homes and those who are looking for affordable housing and would like to share a home. Home seekers can be any age, including couples and families. Trading supportive services for affordable rent makes sense.

Learn more at Sunshinehomeshare.org, or email Alison@sunshinehomeshare.org

[Photo courtesy of Sunshine Home Share Colorado]