Bay Area non-profit aims to bring affordable housing solution to Monterey County

A Bay Area company is offering a potential solution to costly housing in Monterey County. The nonprofit, called Home Match, wants to fill residents’ spare rooms with tenants looking for affordable housing.

The company said it predominantly focuses on senior citizens as the demographic of homeowners they include in the program. They said that’s because the aim is to provide older residents with a stream of income that might allow them to stay in a living situation they otherwise couldn’t afford.

“Our average homeowner, or provider, is a 73-year-old female who lives alone,” Karen Coppock, Director of Covia’s Home Match San Francisco, said. “Who may need a little bit of extra income. Maybe help around the house. Or, frankly, just some companionship. And we connect them with people like students, teachers, non-profit workers. People who are really struggling to afford housing in the communities in which we operate.”

According to Home Match, the tenants are meant to reap as many benefits as the homeowners. Often, that comes in the form of helping these renters live closer to their jobs.

“It’s something we see a lot in the Bay Area,” Coppock said. “People are exhausted before they show up to work. And it’s also expensive, and it’s a lot of wear and tear on the person and the family.”

This program is currently active in San Francisco as well as several other counties in the Bay Area. And, according to Home Match, it’s connected about 376 people for housing purposes so far. But these matches don’t happen blindly. The program involves a background check, home visit, and compatibility test.

Home Match does not have anything to do with the contracts homeowners and their tenants draw up together. The nonprofit simply works to match people up. It’s still working to get funding from various cities throughout Monterey County, but the company says it expects to launch in the area by spring or summer of this year.