Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, for the Times Argus
BURLINGTON — With Vermont facing a growing housing shortage, programs like HomeShare Vermont are quietly saving residents hundreds of thousands of dollars, all while redefining what “home” can look like.
HomeShare Vermont, a nonprofit since 1982, connects homeowners with people seeking affordable housing in exchange for rent, help around the house, or both.
The organization is growing. The number of participants dipped slightly after the pandemic but has rebounded since.
Connor Timmons, HomeShare’s executive director, said more growth is on the horizon. “Bringing the program statewide is a milestone that we look forward to celebrating,” he said.
It’s not always easy to find a match. The process is lengthy, usually taking weeks or months, and includes interviews, background checks, and trial stays.
We “try to learn as much about our clients as possible,” Timmons said. “Not to be nosy, but to set up the best matches.”
The program charges a one-time matching fee on a sliding scale, ranging from $60 to $500, depending on income. The average age of a host is 72, and guests average 47 years old, Timmons said.
“Historically, it is older hosts and younger guests, but not always,” Timmons said. “There is a variety of different ways it can work out.”
Even Timmons’ own family participates in HomeShare. This summer, they’re seeking a guest who would watch their two young children a couple of times a week — an example of the unique arrangements that HomeShare allows.
At the end of the matching process, the host and guest create and follow a match agreement, which outlines the rules of the house. Arrangements can include childcare, cooking, driving or cleaning, with the stipulation that guests cannot provide more than 15 hours of assistance per week.
The model has gained traction. Before the pandemic, in fiscal year 2019, there were 202 people in matches. The number dropped to 191 in fiscal year 2021 but has grown significantly since, annual reports show. In 2025, 300 people were matched by the program — 157 who shared their homes and 143 who found housing.
HomeShare estimates that guests saved more than $880,000 in rental expenses in 2025, with the average rent totaling $379 per month. Thirty percent of guests who provide services for their hosts don’t pay any rent.
Timmons said HomeShare has been able to serve more people by expanding the program’s geographical reach, including to the Northeast Kingdom last summer. HomeShare has also doubled its outreach efforts in Chittenden County.
“As we predicted, our new areas are bringing in a fair amount of applications and at least a few matches so far,” he said. “We expect the impact to take time. While we’ve been doing this for 43 years, folks in those areas typically haven’t heard much about us because we haven’t been working on reaching them until very recently.”
Looking ahead, the organization hopes to grow more in central Vermont. Three years ago, HomeShare hired a full-time case manager for the area, freeing up another staffer to focus on the NEK and Lamoille County, Timmons said.
“It has quickly become one of our busiest areas,” he said.
Of the 66 listings on HomeShare’s website this week, 14 were located in Washington County, the most of any county, including Chittenden, where the organization is based. Even so, Timmons said the challenges of finding homes in central Vermont are no different from anywhere else in the state.
“There just aren’t enough places for people to live affordably right now,” he said.
Like many nonprofits, HomeShare relies on various funding streams to stay afloat. The state’s Department of Disability, Aging, and Independent Living provides about 65% of the organization’s funding. But about 15% of that amount comes from the federal government, which has threatened to claw back the money, Timmons said. So far, the feds haven’t followed through.
“The irony is the more cuts there are, the more need there is for their program,” he said.