Local volunteers pitch home‑sharing platform to ease senior homelessness in Clallam County

A retired physician and volunteer with SHIBA outlined a proposal to promote home sharing in Clallam County as a near‑term way to keep low‑income and older residents housed.

The presenter said home sharing “is defined as sharing part of your home with someone you are not related to,” and described a model used by services such as Nesterly that matches homeowners and tenants, performs background checks, provides contracts and takes a one‑time placement fee plus a small monthly service percentage. She said she has given nine public presentations and collected contact information from 22 people interested in hosting so far.

The idea matters because meeting participants and the presenter said the fastest‑growing group of people who need housing locally and nationally is women over 60 and other older adults with very low monthly incomes. The presenter described one case in which a person’s Social Security check was $235 a month while Medicare Part B premiums were $185, and said home sharing combined with enrollment in Medicaid enabled that person to…