On any given night on Vancouver Island, a large percentage of bedrooms have no one sleeping in them.
At least one group thinks that statistic might contain the seed for a new way of addressing the homelessness problem.
According to Statistics Canada data compiled by Jens Von Bergmann, about . That figure is based on data from the 2016 Canadian Census (2021 data is not yet available) and is likely an under-count, according to CensusMapper.
B次元官网网址淲e roughly know the number of bedrooms that are out thereB次元官网网址nd so that tells us a story about roughly how many bedrooms are in houses, at least in occupied houses,B次元官网网址� said Von Bergmann. He then calculates how many of them are empty based on the number of people living in homes. B次元官网网址淲e just add up all the bedrooms we have and all the people and couples and just look at the difference. And that gives us an estimate of the number of empty bedrooms.B次元官网网址�
With Campbell River also facing an affordable housing crisis B次元官网网址� a 2021 vacancy rate of 1.5 per cent and rental units going for an average $2,000 per month B次元官网网址� the Campbell River and District Coalition to End Homelessness has an idea of how to alleviate the pressure.
That idea is home-sharing.
B次元官网网址淭he situation in Campbell River is challenging right now. Thinking of creative, innovative ways to provide affordable housing solutions to more people is especially attractive right now,B次元官网网址� said Stefanie Hendrickson, coordinator for the coalition. B次元官网网址淗ousing is really challenging here. ItB次元官网网址檚 expensive, thereB次元官网网址檚 not a lot of it, so this has the potential of opening up more spaces for people in the community.B次元官网网址�
Home sharing platforms are companies that essentially act as mediators between a host and a renter. They handle background checks, matching renters and hosts, payments, agreements and even conflict resolution.
B次元官网网址淵ou share amenities, youB次元官网网址檙e sharing a kitchen you may share a bathroom depending on how many bathrooms are in the house, youB次元官网网址檙e sharing a yard and often sharing some of the household responsibilities if that works for you,B次元官网网址� Hendrickson said. B次元官网网址�(The platforms are) set up very well so that if people are looking for a little bit of an extra boost to their agreement things can be added into it. ThatB次元官网网址檚 things like maybe taking care of a pet or helping with basic household chores or meal preparations.B次元官网网址�
The coalition has been looking at a platform called . All thatB次元官网网址檚 left is to find an organization to recruit new hosts and get the project up and running.
While these services are open to anyone, they are especially useful to people who are interested in a multi-generational set up. For example, a senior who wants to keep living at home may be matched with a student who is looking for affordable housing while they attend school. The household chores are split up between the two parties in a way that works for them. The host can afford to keep their home and is safe because they are not alone and the renter gets to save a few dollars and has peace of mind.
Not everyone will want to be a part of a home share, but it will appeal to a certain group, Von Bergmann said.
B次元官网网址淥ne thing thatB次元官网网址檚 sort of easy to forget is that itB次元官网网址檚 actually nice to have empty bedrooms,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 mean, there might be some people that want extra moneyB次元官网网址� IB次元官网网址檓 curious to see how this will play out.B次元官网网址�
Besides seniors, the idea could also be for people B次元官网网址渨ho are just interested in renting out an extra room that they have available,B次元官网网址� Hendrickson said. B次元官网网址淚t has a lot of potential, we just havenB次元官网网址檛 found an organization yetB次元官网网址o explore this further.B次元官网网址�
Interested organizations can email the coalition at info@crhousing.net.
