HelpAge Canada is proud to announce that their flagship program, Canada HomeShare, has expanded to allow for new types of home sharing and is now accepting applications from older home providers and room seekers in three communities with their technology partner, Happipad.

Lead by Dr Raza Mirza, Director of Knowledge Mobilization at HelpAge Canada and Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto's Institute for Life Course and Aging, Canada HomeShare matches older home providers with individuals looking to rent a spare room. An initial pilot project in 2018 and an expanded program in 2020 facilitated matches between post-secondary students and older home providers in five Canadian cities. In March 2024, the program relaunched in three communities – Kingston, Vancouver, and Toronto – and now also supports room seekers over the age of 55 as well as post-secondary students in finding a home sharing match with an older home provider.

"Many people continue to express interest in the idea of intergenerational home sharing – how often do you get the opportunity to learn from someone every day who's six decades older or younger than you? But we also heard from older adults who loved the idea of Canada HomeShare and wanted to know if they could be matched with an older home provider. Older people might not feel comfortable hopping on Kijiji or Facebook Marketplace to look for a room to rent, so there's definitely a need to provide a safe, trustworthy space for older adults to find shared accommodations. Also, an older person may not have as many opportunities for new connections as they might have had when they were working or in school – senior-to-senior home sharing is a way for older people to form meaningful friendships with a like-minded person that they can go about their day-to-day with," says Dr. Mirza.

Canada HomeShare is the only national, not-for-profit home sharing program in Canada. Speaking to the importance of having not-for-profit initiatives in the home sharing sector, Dr. Mirza said:

"Our research shows that the person who is most likely to apply or be referred to our program is someone who may require financial support to stay in their home and community – especially low-income older women who are living alone, may have a disability, have recently been widowed or divorced, or who are struggling with rising costs of living. We're encouraged to see growing awareness of home sharing, and as a not-for-profit, we have a responsibility to think of who our core client is and fully prioritize community development and social good for home providers and room seekers alike."