New program to help with affordable living

Eric Johnson, who heads the Anacortes Community Shelter Project, is launching a home-matching service which he calls FISH, or Fidalgo Island Share a Home. FISH will be the information conduit to match those who have a spare room in their homes with home seekers looking for an affordable place to live.

“I have a single mom with a child who needs a home,” says Johnson. He says the woman has been living with her mother in senior housing and must leave. So, he’s looking for someone who’s got a spare room and who’d be willing to share their home for low rent.

Johnson said the need for FISH was first voiced at the Anacortes Human Services Coalition, where members noted there are quite a few people on Fidalgo Island who are faced with having to leave their homes because they’re no longer able to live on their own without some physical support.

“I've heard of a number of cases in which elders are no longer able to use the stove or oven, and they are faced with cooking entirely from the microwave oven. This may be OK for a college student for 4 years, but this becomes a grim prospect for an elderly person.” Johnson said.

“These elderly home owners would be a great match with a younger individual who would be delighted to cook and clean or make the occasional trip to the doctor's office in exchange for a place to live.”

Johnson said he’s modeled FISH on a similar operation on Whidbey Island. FISH will do background checks with the State Patrol and other agencies through Orca Info-Com Systems in Anacortes. He said “We will meet with both parties for in-depth interviews to understand their housing needs and personal interests.” FISH will provide home providers and home seeks with profiles of all the potential matches. They will decide who they’d like to meet with and, once they’ve met, who they’d like to share a home with. FISH will sit down with the parties to draft a contract that outlines the living arrangements.

FISH is looking for volunteers now for a number of roles, including: meeting with clients, helping process the paperwork, acting as the facilitator when home sharers iron out their contracts, or helping out with follow-up assistance.

Find more information at the FISH Web site. Or call Eric at 299-8889.