Roommate
Wanted

HomeShare program matches those who have room and
need companionship with those who want company
and affordable housing.

Mike Root of Ann Arbor wants
more people to know about the
advantages of HomeShare.

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SHARON LUCKERMAN
Staff Writer

lthough a fiercely independent octoge-
narian, Lillian Rossinger was ham-
pered by a degenerative nerve disease
— and she and her family were con-
cerned about her living alone in her Ann Arbor
condo.
But Rossinger was lucky. Instead of moving,
she found HomeShare, an Ann Arbor agency
that matched her two years ago with Jan Frey,
59, a real estate agent. At the time, Frey needed
to "cut down on expenses." She now pays less
than $200 a month for a room and her own bath
in Rossinger's condo in exchange for light chores
like taking out the garbage, shopping and water-

ing plants.
But it's more than a financial exchange.
"I wound up with a family," Frey says. And
Rossinger, who especially likes the inter-genera-
tional aspect of the arrangement, agrees.
This past June, Detroit's Jewish Family Service
started a HomeShare program for Oakland
County homeowners. This program is partially
funded by a three-year grant from the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit Max M.
Fisher Jewish Community Foundation. It
received $20,750 for the first year; $18,675 for
the second year; and $16,807 for the third. After
three years, any other cost will be absorbed by
Jewish Family Service.
"HomeShare will help individuals remain in
their homes," says program director Becky Eizen.

It also will provide alternative housing options
and affordable places to live. The service is free.
"The program matches homeowners — called
providers — with those who are looking for a
place to live — called seekers," says Jan Arps,
Ann Arbor's HomeShare program director.
Many of the seekers tend to be students and
women in transition who are widowed or
divorced.
To find participants for the Detroit program,
Eizen is contacting Hillel programs at surround-
ing universities as well as synagogues. She is also
studying HomeShare programs in Chicago,
Atlanta and especially Ann Arbor. All are under
the umbrella of the National Shared Housing
Resource Center.
Eighteen years ago, Pearl Axelrod established

10/5
2001

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