The Willow Glen Resident Council Watch Program hooks up seniors with young renters By Cecily Barnes A $32,000 grant from the city of San Jose and Santa Clara County will help keep Willow Glen seniors and their peers throughout the county out of retirement homes. The money, which has already been approved, will soon be transferred to Project Match to help fund its In-Home Work Exchange Program, a system to keep senior citizens safe and happy in their own homes. "Younger adults who are facing homelessness themselves or can't afford the expensive housing of the South Bay actually move into the homes of the seniors," said Ron Sommer, director of development for Project Match. "In exchange for little or no rent, the younger adults perform those task and chores that are necessary so that the senior can remain their home." Amanda Wolf is one of the people involved in the program. The 23-year-old called Project Match before moving to California from Minnesota. "I used it as a resource to find a place to live since things are so expensive around here," Wolf said. "I pay $425 a month, which is a lot better than the other options I looked at, like rooming with a co-worker." To participate, Wolf was screened and interviewed by Project Match. Participants in the program must be carefully interviewed. Their current living situation is evaluated, references are checked and a criminal background check is performed. "The last thing we need is for an ax murder to be sent into someone's home," Sommer said. The seniors who participate are also carefully interviewed to determine what their needs are and what type of person they will be compatible with. After completing all the initial interviews, the younger adults and seniors meet each other with the facilitator present. "The senior is given a choice of several people to select from, and likewise the younger adult has a veto over the situation, too," Sommer said. "We don't just say, 'You're moving into this person's house.' That would never work." According to Sommer, no seniors have ever been abused in this living arrangement. The largest problems have been basic personality conflicts, and if needed switches can be made. Project Match follows up on all of the households to make sure both people feel happy in the situation. "We don't just match people up and drop them; we do a periodic follow-up," Sommer said. "We negotiate and mediate if there are disagreements, to take the rough edges off the relationship." [ Back to Contents Page | Willow Glen Resident Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Willow Glen Resident, October 28, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.