By Melanie Slone
Individuals in need of housing now have another option—shared housing. “The San Diego Shared Housing Collaborative is an initiative of Townspeople meant to create a regional system for shared housing placements in the county,” says Melissa Peterman, Executive Director at Townspeople.
Anyone experiencing homelessness in San Diego County can go online and find a housemate to “share multi-bedroom housing that meets their collective preferences and incomes,” says Peterman, because most rental housing is multi-bedroom.
Many of the folks who we help feel isolated, they don’t have relationships with folks,” she says, “so this is a good way to do both—end homelessness and build back that network of support.”
The online system allows persons experiencing homelessness to create a profile, complete their preference questionnaire, see who they’re compatible with, and interact with possible matches.
“Then we host in-person meetups,” says Peterman. “If they feel like they’ve made a connection and they want a place where they can get to know each other in person, we do those throughout the county.”
Individuals can rent one bedroom, with their own lease, as a roommate rents the other bedroom also with their own lease, a model Peterman says provides financial sustainability for the property owners as well. “We talk to property owners about the benefits, and we have gotten about half or more property owners on board,” she says.
Another approach is the master lease of some units. That way, says Peterman, “property owners get paid no matter what. And we get to select the tenants and reduce barriers to entry.”
Individuals interested in shared housing can work with their service providers, and Townspeople also has resources to help people use the program if they are not currently receiving services. There is some assistance to cover security deposits and application fees.
Townspeople
Townspeople is a nonprofit started by neighbors about 40 years ago in response to the HIV/ADIS epidemic, when people were losing housing because of their diagnosis. It continues to serve people experiencing homelessness, with an emphasis on those with medical vulnerabilities.
The Regional Task Force on Homelessness created the shared housing pilot program with Townspeople, the City of Vista, and the City of La Mesa. The program brings together several providers and agencies throughout the county and offers training for this new model.
In November, Townspeople celebrated meeting the goal of getting 75 people into shared housing; going forward they will focus on sustainability. “We’re working toward a fully housed San Diego,” says Peterman.
About Townspeople’s Shared Housing Initiative
- Eligibility requirement is that person is experiencing homelessness or is about to experience homelessness
- Individuals must be able to cover their portion of housing expenses, through earned income or benefits
- Focused on single adults but looking to expand to single parents with children
- Housemates create a housemate agreement before moving in that includes how to address conflict and a code of conduct for the shared home
- People can be relocated in case of conflict
- Most of Townspeople staff are English–Spanish bilingual
- Work with undocumented individuals through master leasing
