These days we turn to the Internet for just about everything. A quick Google search will allow you to find information on topics as varied as astrophysics to the various uses for zinc oxide – in other words, anything from A – Z. With that in mind, the team here at Golden Girls Canada is happy to announce that today we are expanding our Internet presence not just with our Golden Girls Facebook page but also, with a separate Closed Facebook Page and discussion forum just for members!
Allow us to explain. In addition to our website, www.goldenhomesharingconnections.ca, we can now be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/goldengirlscanada/. This is a public page where we share new and exciting information about homesharing, recent articles in the news and tips and tools for those considering homesharing. We invite you to visit our facebook page today and to check back often! Even better news is that our new, “Members Only” Facebook page has even more! Hosted and moderated by the Founder of Golden Girls Canada, Dorothy Mazeau, this is a page where folks can get together safely and privately, to share their thoughts, feelings, questions and concerns about homesharing options for seniors. If you’re like us – one of the first things you might want to talk about is “What exactly is homesharing?” This new Facebook page is called “Imagine a House Full of Friends” and it’s one of the benefits of membership in Golden Girls Canada. The group provides a safe, friendly forum for you to ask all of your questions (there’s no such thing as a bad or trivial question!) and to meet other like-minded seniors who are already considering homesharing. You just might meet your future housemate and you will certainly find all the information you need to make an informed decision about whether homesharing is a viable option for you! Click on the links in this blog to learn more.
Homesharing continues to be a timely topic. Just recently, homesharing (of a kind) made the news once again with an article by John Michael McGrath of tvo.org discussing proposed changes to the PPS – Provincial Policy Statement. The PPS introduces and defines a new term called “housing options.” John describes these options, further defined in the government document, as “a range of housing types such as, but not limited to; single-detached, semi-detached, row houses, townhouses, stacked townhouses, multiplexes, additional residential units, tiny homes, (and) multiresidential buildings that could be owned in a variety of different ways.” In our opinion, it certainly represents “thinking outside of the box.” The proposal, Mr. McGrath goes on to write, encourages municipalities to think of ways to allow for the “missing middle” types of housing (townhouses, low-rise apartments and others) to be able to develop alongside and even within neighbourhoods that were previously designated as single-family dwelling communities. Also referred to as “intensification” it’s anticipated these changes might meet with stiff resistance in some neighbourhoods but at Golden Girls Canada we see this as an opportunity for folks to start thinking about their housing options differently. Obviously we have long been proponents of shared housing arrangements. With these possible changes to PPS, we now have the potential to make it easier for many people, including seniors, mature adults and even groups of friends, to enter into a variety of homesharing arrangements without breaking any municipal existing housing regulations.
As this TVO article and others like it continue to demonstrate, homesharing is an idea whose time has come. Population demographics are shifting and as they do, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that we all need to work together to ensure a variety of viable housing options exist – certainly for seniors – but really, for everyone. That’s why Golden Girls Canada exists and why we are happy to be a part of the conversation. Why not join our Facebook page today so you too can have your voice heard, share your thoughts on shared housing and find out everything you ever needed to know – “from A-Z” – about homesharing in your community!