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HomeShare Oregon pitches room‑sharing to help older residents in Madras
Summary
Sabina of HomeShare Oregon told a Madras community meeting the nonprofit matches homeowners with people seeking rooms, focusing on people 55 and older (she said 70% of participants are female). She offered free background checks, lease templates and mediation and will supply materials for local follow-up.
Sabina, a presenter with HomeShare Oregon, told a local Madras community meeting that the nonprofit’s program matches householders who have spare rooms with people seeking affordable housing. Sabina said the program serves a disproportionate share of older adults and women: “A big majority of our demographic is 55 and older folks … 70% of our participants are female.”
HomeShare Oregon, Sabina said, operates an online matching platform and offers free background checks for both parties, a lease agreement template and statewide conflict-resolution mediators to help householders and renters resolve disputes. “All of our services are free,” she said, and staff can provide lease templates and mediation to reduce the chance that a match fails.
Sabina told the group HomeShare is piloting in Portland Metro and in a rural site to learn cultural differences between regions and better support aging residents who face rising costs and limited retirement income. She said the organization prioritizes prevention — placing people before they become chronically homeless — and is developing coordinator capacity to help people with limited technology access get onto the platform.
The presenter also described the WISH initiative and a Portland State University dashboard tracking evictions across Oregon; she said PSU’s dataset lacked gender breakdowns for some counties, which limits service planning: “They did not do their count, and they’re not able to get access to the gender information.”
Local participants asked whether the point‑in‑time count could provide a gender or age breakdown; staff said the PIT count was not yet complete and only high‑level counts had been available. The chair asked staff to connect Sabina and HomeShare Oregon with the Council on Aging so local aging‑services providers could assess whether HomeShare should be promoted or supported locally.
No formal action or vote was taken; Sabina said she would provide materials and follow up with a local contact to discuss outreach and a possible local assessment.
