How ‘Match.com for roommates' could save seniors from homelessness

Lavender Courtyard is a three-story apartment complex that serves LGBTQ+ seniors who pay affordable rents based on income, which caps rents at 30% of their monthly-adjusted income. With the housing crisis running rampant, the Lavender Courtyard provides seniors with affordable housing and a space where they can safely live comfortably and authentically.

S.U.C.C.E.S.S. is an immigrant services agency that connects immigrants with the resources they need to adjust to life in Canada. The group helps an average of 73,000 people each year from more than 150 countries and provides assistance in finding affordable housing, English language training, career and social services and accessing care for seniors.

Mutual Housing California opened Lavender Courtyard, a 53-unit affordable housing complex, with the goal of providing a welcoming and safe place for LGBTQ+ seniors who often face discrimination. Approximately half of the tenants are LGBTQ+, and residents say the project has given them a place to find community and feel safe being themselves.

Intergenerational home sharing is a mutually beneficial option for seniors and young people. There are about 60 programs, run by cities, nonprofits, and platforms in the style of Airbnb, that connect seniors and young people for cohabitation. Seniors benefit by being able to stay in their homes, collect income, and have someone to help with social isolation and household chores. Young people benefit from access to affordable housing options in high-cost areas and engaging in rich relationship building. Home sharing services are facing legal challenges and the Covid-19 pandemic made cohabiting more risky.

House calls are not new to the medicine field, but they are becoming more predominant as doctors look for ways to expand access to those that aren't able to make it into an office. Focusing mostly on "disabled, chronically ill, elderly, and other at-risk populations," doctors are utilizing technological advancements to bring the care to the patient, a practice that also allows them a chance to assess their home situation.

In the United Kingdom, loneliness is an epidemic. Those who feel chronically lonely may have weaker immune systems, an increased risk of cancer, and shorter life spans. These afflictions and risks associated with loneliness put a strain on the country's National Health Service. Many organizations like AgeUK, which offers companionship matching, and Silverline, which offers a 24-hour conversation helpline, specifically target the elderly. But research shows that young people are lonely too, which is why these solutions are an important addition to fighting loneliness.

In Los Angeles, seniors finding themselves unable to pay rising rents on fixed incomes and those attempting to age in place in need of some extra help are being paired together in a new home share program. Organizations that help develop pairing are growing in the area as needs increase, but it isn't always the best solution for everyone.

When families are priced out of their homes in hot housing markets because of increasing property values/rental prices, they often have to move to new educational districts, pulling children out of their schools in the middle of the year and stalling progress. In Austin, the Austin Independent School District is using a new tool, Mobility Blueprint, to help families find affordable housing within their educational district.

New York State's partnership with ElliQ, a tabletop AI companion robot distributed free to low-income, socially isolated seniors through the state's Office for the Aging, aims to address the elderly loneliness crisis. Launched in 2022 with an initial pilot of 800 devices, the program has since expanded to 15 government agencies across multiple states. 94% of users report feeling less lonely after living with the robot.

As rents in Madison, Wisconsin, skyrocket, alternative housing options are emerging. One such option is cohousing, a form of community living in which residents live in multiple units. One unit, Linden Cohousing, has 75 members living across its 45 units, enjoying not only affordable housing but also the community aspect of cohousing. Madison currently has four active cohousing communities, with more on the way.