Sharing (Housing) With Friends
Zola Rose Zola Rose

Sharing (Housing) With Friends

The Sharing with Friends housing model was born out of a burning desire for housing justice for single older women who are in the "missing middle"--who do not qualify for social housing but also can't afford market rental or to buy their own home and who are living on the edge of housing insecurity. 

The unique co-housing model provides an affordable, secure, and connected way of living where five women, who self-select, share a specifically designed house which offers privacy and automony while also a sense of community, having spaces for shared meals and activities.

I interview Susan Davies and Adrienne Irvine, founders of the Sharing with Friends Foundation about how they formed the foundation and fund the development, how the programme gives women agency by through workshops that empowers them to design how they will live together, and how the model can be replicated throughout Australia and other countries.

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HomeShare for Her, Co-op Living, easier THOW policy
Zola Rose Zola Rose

HomeShare for Her, Co-op Living, easier THOW policy

The HomeShare for Her program is located in the Nelson-Tasman region of Aotearoa NZ. The program addresses the lack of affordable housing and the lack of available housing for single women. According to a Stuff article in April 2023, “low wages and expensive housing make the Nelson Tasman area unaffordable” with the region’s housing being the third worst in the country.

But the other thing that the programme does is it mitigates the problems that can come up when people share a living space together.

So, HomeShare for Her hopes to mitigate problematic house-sharing experiences and help women have the best possible shared living situation, sharing the home in a way that's equal, where everyone living there feels like the house really is their home.

This a programme that could be replicated in other regions so listen in to learn about how it's done.

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