Leyer can recuperate comfortably after back surgery. They share household duties, including cooking, cleaning and grocery shopping. The more I listened, the more I saw two best friends with more than a house in common. Sullivan said of Leyer. Shared housing is only a short-term and limited fix for Silicon Valley's housing and rental crisis, but it's a good one.
Desperate renters can get on their feet, and financially strapped homeowners can keep their homes.
Another shared housing program, Project Match, specializes in matching elderly homeowners with younger renters. Catholic Charities' program matched 1,568 homeowners and roomers last year and 10,000 since 1980. For every homeowner willing to rent through the charity, there are 10 renters looking for rooms. If President George W. Bush manages to fund church-based social services, he couldn't do better than this one. The Mercury News.