Homeshare – an inter‐generational solution to housing and support needs

Abstract

Homeshare is a facilitated bartering approach to meeting both the care and the support needs of people who need support to live independently in their own homes, and the accommodation needs of people who lack accommodation. There are a small number of successful Homeshare programmes in the UK, but a large range of similar services world‐wide. This article describes how Homeshare works, including how it is financed and how it manages risk. It examines the range of benefits to individuals, communities and the state which can arise from successful Homeshare programmes, and outlines some of the local factors that appear to affect the success of Homeshare programmes. It argues that more evidence is needed to explore the potential of Homeshare to improve outcomes and generate efficiencies by reduced use of residential care, emergency services and health services. It notes that Homeshare has the potential to make higher education more affordable for students from modest income families, and to ease recruitment difficulties faced by public services in areas of expensive accommodation.

Citation

Fox, A. (2010), "Homeshare – an inter‐generational solution to housing and support needs", Housing, Care and Support, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 21-26. https://doi.org/10.5042/hcs.2010.0707