“I can no longer afford to live in the West End unless I have a roommate.”
“I am being renovicted and I can’t afford to rent in this neighbourhood any longer unless I have a roommate.”
These are just a few examples of what we have heard from some of our members recently as our community is experiencing both affordability challenges and development pressures.
In response to these comments, WESN recently held a community consultation on the topic of pairing older adults as roommates. With funding from the City of Vancouver Homelessness Action Week, we brought together older adults in our neighbourhood and community partners to explore the advantages and challenges of creating a program that can help connect older adults who would like to live with another local older adult.
We are in the process of compiling all of the feedback we have received, and we will share what we have learned with our membership. In the meantime, please visit our WESN At Work page to see the media coverage this consultation generated.