Session: Homeshare: Innovative Opportunities for Addressing Rising Housing Insecurity and Caregiving Needs for Older Adults (Society for Social Work and Research 29th Annual Conference)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Housing instability poses significant challenges for older adults, who have become one of the fastest growing groups of users of homelessness services in the United States. Many older adults also encounter increased caregiving needs as they age. Homeshare programs present promising opportunities to address rising housing instability and caregiving needs among older adults. This symposium comprises three papers that employ case study and ethnographic methodologies to examine housing and caregiving experiences of homeshare participants and staff from two homeshare organizations that serve six counties in Northern California. This community-engaged study also draws on collaborative research partnerships with two homeshare organizations who helped frame the research questions, assist with recruitment, and understand and contextualize the research findings.

METHODS: Paper 1 presents a comparative case study of two homeshare organizations, using ethnographic program data, organizational materials, and staff interviews to examine differences and similarities of program models and its outcomes across different geographies and social work engagement. Using data from ethnographic interviews, Paper 2 examines motivations for participation and experiences of housing and well-being among homeshare participants in the same two homeshare organizations as Paper 1. Paper 3 also draws on ethnographic interviews of program participants to examine their experiences of caregiving within the two homeshare programs. All papers use thematic analysis in Dedoose and research memos to identify and compare themes.

RESULTS: Paper 1 identified three themes in its comparative case study regarding the matching process, conflict resolution, and reasons for cost-burdens in housing. Paper 2 identified a range of motivations for participating in homeshare programs, including for home providers (financial, companionship, moral reasons, need for help) and for home seekers (financial need, formality of the program, and interpersonal interactions). Paper 3 identified five themes to describe diverse caregiving among homeshare participants: (1) reciprocal caregiving; (2) expansive caregiving; (3) financial caregiving; (4) emergent caregiving, and (5) liable caregiving.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Housing instability and rising caregiving needs are impacting the lives of older adults throughout the United States. Given social work’s focus on social justice, social care, and service delivery, social workers are often involved in identifying solutions for older adults experiencing these challenges. The three papers here provide timely and relevant empirical data for the field of social work as well as researchers, educators, and practitioners outside of social work who are also tackling these issues. The collaborative partnerships between the research team and the homeshare organizations involved in this study also underscore the importance of engaging community organizations throughout the research process to strengthen the salience, responsiveness, and impact of the research.