On a Thursday morning about seven years ago, Sarah White anxiously opened her computer. It was early, about 2 a.m., as she pulled up the search bar and put in a simple request: affordable senior housing.
To her relief, something popped up, an organization called Senior Home Sharing. It was a small operation, offering accommodations in Naperville and Lombard for 15 seniors in DuPage County at a time.
There was a room available for her dad at the Lombard house. Even better, it was affordable on his fixed income. White applied on his behalf, not knowing then that it was as much an application for herself as it was for him.
Last fall, White was named executive director of Senior Home Sharing.
She’s taken on the role with an ambition to expand the nonprofit, both in capacity and acclaim, so more DuPage County seniors can take advantage of its services, like her dad.
“The overarching goal,” White said, “is to stop hearing that people have never heard about us before.”
Senior Home Sharing was founded in 1984. Its basic structure is in the name: home sharing. Through organization-owned, family-style houses, Senior Home Sharing provides low-income seniors a shared independent living space.
Homes have been scattered in different western suburbs over the decades, according to White. Today, they operate out of two residences: one in Lombard and another in Naperville. Between the two, 15 seniors can be housed at a time.
As of Wednesday, two rooms were open, one in Lombard and one in Naperville. Residents leave for a variety of reasons, White said. For instance, because Senior Home Sharing doesn’t offer medical services, a resident’s health may decline past what they can provide.
Paul, who asked that his last name not be published, has lived in the Naperville home for just over five years. He says the nonprofit saved his life.
“I truly feel blessed to be able to live here,” he said.
Before he found Senior Home Sharing, Paul, 71, was homeless. He’d spent most of his life living in DuPage County but for two years when he was in his mid-60s, Paul relied on DuPage Pads for intermittent housing. He spent two winters without a home.
He didn’t think he’d make it to a third. But his caseworker at DuPage Pads knew of Senior Home Sharing, and Paul was given the opportunity to apply. He hasn’t left since being accepted and moving in.
“I love it here,” he said. “I really do. … It’s safe. It’s secure. It’s more than adequate. All of our needs are met. That’s what life is. And as you get older, you learn that’s important. I have no care or worries about tomorrow or the next day or the day after that.”
More than security and comfort, Paul said Senior Home Sharing has also given him a community.
“I grew up single,” he said. “I didn’t know what it was like to have a spouse in the house or kids or things like that.”
But the past five years with Senior Home Sharing has felt like he’s had a family, he said.
And it wouldn’t have been possible, he said, if the housing wasn’t so affordable.
“A lot of senior options are more than twice or three times the cost of living here,” he said. “That low threshold of income allows me to live here. If it wasn’t for something like this, I couldn’t afford to live in DuPage County or in Naperville.”
Senior Home Sharing residents typically pay between $1,000 to $1,600 a month, a fee that covers not only rent but utilities and all meals, according to White.
Grant funding and donations allow the nonprofit to keep costs lower for clients, White said.
On average, she’ll receive three or four calls a week from people interested in a spot. She’s hoping they will soon be able to expand their capacity to take on more residents.
The nonprofit is looking to acquire another property within the next nine months, White said. They’re also working to expand a service launched a year ago: in-home counseling at little to no cost for seniors across DuPage County. A final prong of their expansion plan is developing services for seniors who want support but want to stay in their own homes, White said.
Her aspiration: Double the number of seniors her organization serves by this time next year, she said.
