PORT ANGELES — Dr. Nancy Stephanz is looking for people who want to share their homes.
“What I’m looking for are people looking for companionship rather than people looking to make a lot of money,” she said.
Stephanz, a retired physician, spoke to the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce about home sharing during the monthly luncheon meeting Wednesday at the Red Lion Hotel.
Home sharing is when a homeowner rents an empty bedroom to someone they are not related to, she said.
“Homes and rents are unaffordable,” Stephanz said during her presentation, which cited vox.com as saying there are 44 million empty bedrooms in the U.S.
“The fastest-growing group of homeless people in the U.S. is women over 60,” she said. “Social Security checks are too small. Caregivers or homemakers never had much personal income.”
Home sharing helps low-income people by providing a room in a home for less than an apartment or house would rent for. It also helps the homeowner by filling a room and providing companionship.
Living alone is not healthy, Stephanz said in her presentation. It can lead to loneliness, depression and a lack of awareness.
“If you have a housemate, they can at least call for help if it’s needed,” Stephanz said.
She first heard about home sharing five years ago while advocating for the use of a service called Nesterly.
Nesterly was founded in Boston and matches elderly people who want to stay in their homes with younger people who need a place to live, according to a PBS News Hour clip shown during Stephanz’s presentation.
Nesterly requires two letters of reference for homeowners and renters, performs background checks on everyone, provides contracts, charges a one-time fee for its use, keeps 2.5 percent of the monthly rent and provides a financial system which handles the rent for homeowners, according to the presentation.
Nesterly does not require first month’s rent, last month’s rent or a deposit. The minimum allowable rent is $200 a month, but the rent is negotiated between the homeowner and the renter, the presentation stated.
Nesterly is open to anyone 18 and older.
“Employees call all clients each month,” Stephanz said.
To bring Nesterly to Port Angeles, Stephanz needs 50 hosts, she said. Until about a month ago, the farthest west Nesterly operated was Nashville, but it’s now working in Bellingham, she said.
“I see this as primarily helping elderly people stay in their homes as long as they want to,” she said. “I really advocate the multigenerational sharing of information.”
To sign up as a host, email your name, phone number and a timeline for when you can host to cchomesharehosts@gmail.com or call Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County at 360-452-1511.
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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.
