CHARLA HUBER
In a tight rental market, home sharing offers a path to independence
To say the rental housing market is tight is an understatement. Greater Victoria is in a housing crisis. The vacancy rate is non-existent and the rents are soaring, making this a landlord’s market.
Renters with a good income, great references and no pets are having a hard time finding places to live.
People with disabilities have challenges when seeking housing at the best of times. Langford homeowner Amber Richardson has rented out her basement suite for as long as she can remember. For the past four years, she’s been renting to people with developmental disabilities.
Richardson decided to stop being a landlord when she joined a homeshare program through Sooke Family Resource Society.
Despite the name, SFRS operates across southern Vancouver Island. Of 26 participating families, only three are in Sooke.
In the home-share program, participants like Richardson offer space in their homes whether it’s a bedroom or a suite, offering a variety of supports such as meal preparation, life skills and budgeting, depending on the need of the client.
Richardson’s client lives in the basement suite and has help cooking meals and cleaning. Richardson is available to help with anything from a ride to the doctor to helping in an emergency. Each client in the program requires supports — without them, they couldn’t have this type of independence.
When I was a teen, I counted the days before I could move out of my parents’ house and enter the world as an adult. I packed a bag of clothes, bought a used snowboard and headed to the Rockies. I worked at a ski hill and had to share a room with a stranger, but it was my first taste of being on my own. And it felt great.
I can’t imagine what it would have been like if I had added barriers between me and my independence, especially during those early adult years. Not only are people with disabilities often denied rights and freedoms, they have additional needs that must be addressed.
When I first heard of this program, I was intrigued. I wanted to know more about the people who open up their homes.
The homeowners are compensated both for providing space in their homes and for their time, but the daily efforts reinforce that people are doing this for greater reasons.
“Home share also makes me feel like I am making an impact on someone’s life,” Richardson said.
Shannon Brower, SFRS manager of Adult and Family Services told me potential home-share providers must go through a lengthy process.
“We work with each homeshare individually to make sure we find a perfect fit. Not everyone qualifies to be a part of our program,” Brower said. “Our successful applicants are here because they want to give back to the community. People are giving up their time and space to help people with special needs.”
The process can take several months before a homeowner is accepted into the program. Clients are placed in homes that are safe, suitable and supportive.
“It’s not about filling a unit, it’s about finding a good fit for both parties,” Brower explained.
I think this is a crucial step and important for anyone looking to rent a space. The screening SFRS offers is considerably safer than answering an online advertisement, which is how I’ve found every rental unit I’ve ever lived in.
I’ve rented homes all across Greater Victoria. I’ve had some great landlords who treated me like family, people I could ask for help when I needed it. I have also had some pretty scary landlords. One from my early 20s refused to fix a stove, with the reasoning “you kids don’t need to cook.”
A few years later, I rented a room in a basement from a sweet old man who lived with his niece. Turned out she was his prostitute, not his niece, and she would break into my room and steal things from me.
When I have lived in sketchy rentals, I’ve always had the ability to find something better and move on. We can all be vulnerable at one point or another. People with disabilities deserve to have independence and make choices about their living situations.
I really admire people who are opening up their homes to make this happen.