Offered through the City's partnership with Petaluma People Services Center, SHARE (Shared Housing And Resource Exchange) is a free program for Sonoma County residents and helps to match two or more unrelated people (one of the participants must be 60 years or older) to share a home. Ideal participants would include any homeowner or renter (home-provider) who has a room or rooms available for rent to help with expenses, or a service exchange homeshare in which defined services are provided in exchange of paying less or no rent. Exchange services include household chores, driving to doctor appointments and personal care, matched with any individual (home-seeker) who needs affordable housing.
Home-sharing includes many benefits such as ease of financial burden, providing companionship, security and independence for those older adults who need basic assistance in order to stay in their homes and age-in-place.
SHARE helps facilitate safe homeshares by conducting interviews and screenings of each participant and provides tools for those home-providers who would also like a background check. Ongoing support is also provided for the homeshare participants.