LA's Household Matchmaker

Since 1978, the nonprofit Affordable Living for the Aging (ALA) has been matching seniors with younger roommates as part of its multigenerational home-sharing program.

The Los Angeles-based group has made 1,200 matches, or 30 per year, according to its home-sharing program manager Miriam Hall, as part of its commitment to "supporting homeless and at-risk seniors with affordable housing, resources, and services," and exploration of "what it means to age with dignity and independence, rather than institutionalization or isolation." In part of its communal living issue, Hall tells Curbed that applications from home seekers have grown in recent years as Los Angeles becomes less and less affordable.

While paying more affordable rent can be life-changing for the home seekers, this type of living situation can also be financially beneficial to home providers, many of whom are on a fixed income, she notes. Homeowners in the ALA program make an average of $6,000 per year from rent, which can be enough to offset the cost of a caregiver or medical bills, for example.

PB Topical Ref