HomeShare program in Ventura County.
The Housing Authority, Agency on Aging and City of Ventura California have partnered with other organizations to create the HomeShare program. The service, which is free to enroll into, will provide individuals, including senior citizens, the ability to save money on their rent by matching people who need an affordable or free place to live with a homeowner that needs support around the house. Learn about the Homeshare Program in Ventura County below.
The government supported program will help match individuals together, but the final decision will be made by the homeowner and the person looking for housing. The “house share” model has been proven to be successful by allowing two individuals to share monthly housing costs, including rent, utilities or a mortgage. Or maybe one person is offered a reduced or even “free” rate as they will help with household chores and provide companionship and/or friendship. Homeshare is mostly focused on helping senior citizens as part of the Agency on Aging (VCAAA), young people who need an affordable or rent free place to live and similar situations.
Program terms and background of HomeShare
The program is very successful on a so called intergenerational basis. This is the case as a senior can get help with paying their rent (or mortgage) and maybe the younger person performs some maintenance or minor chores for the senior citizen that can both offset their bills and help the senior. What will happen as part of HomeShare is some or all of the following, or read more on what exactly Homeshare is.
- The process requires an application to be complete. This includes SS #, past rental history, income, employment and other criteria.
- After that is done, careful and thorough background checking will occur by the Agency on Aging as well as Housing Authority if needed
- In addition to that, participants will need to be interviewed, and an inspection of the provider's property will occur.
Throughout this process follow up will be done at all stages, questions will be answered, and additional checks will be completed as needed. If needed, Homeshare can be combined with other rental assistance programs in your area of Venture County. Savings can be incurred from reduced or shared monthly rent costs or other agreed upon expenses.
Note that the HomeShare program is not an emergency housing or rental assistance program. This is the case because of the fact that it sometimes takes quite a bit of time to process the applications, find a match, and there is an investigation that needs to occur throughout the application process. All of this takes time, and the agencies involved would rather go slow and be as certain as possible during the matching process.
Although the organizers of the program, including Ventura County Agency on Aging as well as Ventura Community Action, will put two people together, the match is ultimately made by the home seeker (person seeking a place to live) and home provider themselves. No agency will force people to live together or share their home. The end result is hopefully that two compatible people will be put together.
The home provider is usually a bit older and/or a senior citizen that is part of the Ventura County Agency on Aging. Many of the people looking for housing tend to be younger. This is occurring because the younger person may pay a lower rent amount, but they will also help the senior with some chores. This is the model that has been proven to be successful.
The HomeShare staff will periodically do a follow-up investigation to determine how the match is working and will be sure to help address or resolve any issues. If people are not compatible or if problems arise, then the arrangement can end.
The program is run closely with and in cooperation with various non-profits such as the Ventura Area Agency on Aging, and is a government-supported program. No fees or expenses are charged to any party, and the goal is to help match people together so they can share on rent, utilities, maintenance and other costs.
Applying for HomeShare in Ventura County
Homeshare of Ventura is operated from an Agency on Aging VCAAA office at 4651 Telephone Rd., Ventura, CA 93003. Call (805) 477-7324 for information or to sign up.
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