As I read posts about rents going up, sometimes several times in under 2 years, forcing some into facing the worst case scenario of homelessness, I'm compelled to reach out.
My focus is on those who, like myself, have no family support, no friends who can share their homes, no groups to network with on a personal basis, and not enough income to qualify even for a share rental with strangers.
In the past 10 years I've lived in Sonoma County, I've shared living with some very unbalanced people. Each time, in desperation to find a way of escape, I've gone from the frying pan into the fire. A room in someone's house is much more complicated than we realize. The best part is shelter from the elements. The worst part is living with substance abuse and rage, directed at the house mate. One of my landlords said "I hate people!". Another one stole things from my room when I was gone. And yet another, who professes "non-violent communication" dominates, by raising his voice, and threatening eviction when asked for reimbursement of household expenses. He even goes as far to say that my asking how to handle household expenses is a "threat" to him.
My dream goal is to connect with conscious, kindred spirits who have a desire to create shared housing. I've done this before, when I had the funds and a good salary to secure a large house. Mostly, they were women's houses, but I'm not opposed to living with men.
A few months ago, I started a network for Senior Women Sharing Housing. I developed a questionnaire to determine mutuality, and put the results in a spreadsheet. Although I wanted to have a meeting, no one could agree on a date and time. I've offered individual support to a few of the women. but it fell short of my ultimate goal of facilitating personal connections for the potential of sharing housing.
Now, I'm at another level, and ready to step into the next phase. I'm thinking of starting a Meet Up for "Conscious Shared Housing Network". Their may be a better name for it, but this identifies what it is. I'm curious about who's willing to participate by meeting face to face, sharing what we want/need, our non-negotiables, and what we offer.
If anyone would like to share leadership, ideas, suggestions, please contact me at [email protected]
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