“The homeshare process is very straight-forward and enables me to stay living in my family home of 53 years. My sharer is heaven sent, and brings a younger perspective to life!”
Companionship and the security of having someone else in the home overnight were front of mind for Helen, 89, and homeshare fitted her requirements perfectly. Helen’s health is good and an extra pair of hands for minor household tasks has been extremely helpful. Helen’s sharer is some 50 years younger than herself, but with several shared interests, the two are a very compatible fit.
“I originally heard about homeshare by chance, a lucky chance! My son’s friend has a neighbour who homeshares and as it’s working so well for them, he thought it would be good for me too, so my son helped me get in touch with Share and Care Homeshare.
Most of the time my health is good, and I don’t require personal care. I am however a little less mobile than I used to be, and felt somewhat uneasy and anxious about being on my own at night; I wanted companionship and security.
Share and Care Homeshare were extremely kind and helpful. The process itself was very straight forward, and the match of sharer was heaven sent! Within a couple of months, I was matched with such a compatible soul – we share a lot of interests. For instance, she’s a Christian too and I’ve since discovered that she’s a part-time administrator in the church that I attend, which I didn’t originally know. The church is only a short distance away, but I’m unable to walk as far as I used to, and as I gave up driving last year, my sharer often joins me for the Sunday morning church service on Zoom. As she also works for a prayer meditation charity, she brings a different perspective which is really nice.
I’m a graduate and she is also an English graduate, so we love watching University Challenge – although our other TV tastes are very different!
My sharer is really good friends with my three children; we all have lots of good times together and when my children come to visit, we share meals together too. In the kitchen, I can’t stand on my feet for too long to chop vegetables, so my sharer cooks for me once a week. From time to time my son comes to stay one night each week for work and so there is lots of coming and going in the house which is very nice.
For me, a little extra help is welcome and my sharer does help with minor household jobs such as putting up the washing pole, and sometimes hanging out the clothes on the washing line. Whilst with other jobs, such as emptying the dishwasher, we take turns, or if one of us cooks, the other one washes up.
Every morning my sharer brings me a cup of tea, which is a nice way to start the day.
My sharer and I have a two-way relationship, which we both bring something to – it’s not one of us depending on the other, both parties benefit. There has to be warm acceptance on both sides, and we also get to learn about each other’s idiosyncrasies!
I would absolutely recommend homeshare to other people in similar situations to mine. Without homeshare, I very much would not have been able to continue living in my home of 53 years which has given me great pleasure over the years. With its lovely garden, and piano, which I love to play – it’s a blessing being able to stay here.
My advice to others considering a homeshare arrangement is to be open minded! In my circumstances, I’m relatively healthy and my mind works well, so all in all it’s lovely to have someone else in the house; someone who is too old to be a grandchild, and not old enough to be a child – almost an inbetween generation, and it’s great to have that perspective on life.”
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