Key factors in the survival of non-profit homesharing programs serving seniors in Canada

This study investigated key factors in the survival of non-profit
homesharing programs serving seniors in Canada. Homesharing programs offer
counseling and referral services to clients interested in homesharing, a housing
option defined as a living arrangement in which unrelated people live together
in a single dwelling, sharing common areas such as the kitchen and living room
but having a private bedroom. Canadian nonprofit organizations have been
offering homesharing services for over 20 years. Since 1980 there have been 35
programs established in Canada; currently, 10 remain in operation.
The study examined and compared the characteristics of surviving
homesharing programs in Canada with findings of the two previous Canadian
studies. The primary goal of the study however was to test four hypotheses
based on the Open Systems approach and to identify those variables in the
internal environment most likely associated with a homesharing program?s
survival.For some variables, all 35 established homesharing programs were
included. For other variables, data on six of the 10 surviving and on 21 closed
programs (15 from the 1989 study) were employed in the analysis. New data
testing the study hypotheses were collected from six surviving and six closed
programs using a written questionnaire which addressed the programs?
operating and organizational characteristics. This study also included an indepth
telephone interview with the six surviving programs. Unpaired t-tests,
bivariate analysis and survival analysis were employed to evaluate differences in
the internal environment of surviving and closed homesharing programs serving
seniors in Canada.This study revealed several key differences in the internal environment of
surviving and closed programs. When compared to closed programs, surviving
programs tended to have longer lifespans and they had different target
population and client restrictions. They tended to be of the interdependent form,
offered fewer matchmaking and counseling services and provided more
referrals. Surviving programs were more likely than closed programs to use
adaptive strategies.The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the Open
Systems (OS) model. They provide insight into the key factors in the survival of
homesharing programs serving seniors in Canada which may be of value for
existing programs and for those which in the future may be established.