Shared Housing: a quick, effective response to homelessness

What's Next, Los Angeles? with Mike Bonin

As homelessness continues to increase nationally and locally, we need fast, urgent, and cost-effective solutions. Shared housing is a model where homeless people live together as a group, often in a single-family home, sharing a bedroom with a roommate. It does not require long waits for government-approved vouchers, and it does not require a ton of staff or bureaucracy. And it does not require new lengthy and expensive construction.

In this episode, Mike talks with people with lived experience with homelessness and shared housing: Natasha, who currently lives in shared housing after being homeless in Los Angeles; Sarah Gabriel, a former resident of shared housing managed by SHARE! (Self-Help and Recovery Exchange), who now works as a peer bridger for the agency, and Jason Robison, SHARE's executive director.

The Culver-City based SHARE! the Self-Help And Recovery Exchange (SHARE!), has been getting people off the streets quickly since 2005 with a model of shared housing called Shared Recovery Housing — a nationally-recognized and evidence-based treatment.

Shared Housing: A Faster, More Cost-Effective Solution to Homelessness (Mike Bonin)

Increasing Housing Options for Homeless Populations Through a Shared Housing Approach (HUD)

Shared Housing as a Solution for Single Adults (National Alliance to End Homelessness)