Four years ago, at age 69, educator Henry "Hank" Machtay secured a 30-year mortgage to buy his garden apartment in the St. Francisco Square Cooperative Inc. in San Francisco's Fillmore district across the street from Japantown. Initially built in the 1960s for members of the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union, its 299 apartments are spread across 12 three-story buildings clustered around landscaped plazas.
His two-bedroom, one bath unit cost $611,000. It is a short bus ride away from his job as a public school teacher. Machtay works in the Digital Communication Pathway program at Galileo Academy of Science and Technology, a high school overseen by the San Francisco Unified School District.
A gay man who moved to the city from New York in 1988, having spent a few years in Los Angeles earning a master's in media from the University of Southern California, Machtay enjoyed living alone. But in addition to his mortgage payments and other costs associated with owning a home, Machtay also has to pay homeowner association fees that have increased since he moved in.
And he found it increasingly difficult to handle the upkeep on his house by himself. Learning about Home Match, a home sharing program for older adults under the auspices of nonprofit Front Porch, Machtay decided to sign up.
"At first, I was hesitant about the idea of it. But I then realized there were crumbs on the floor. At 70, I used to be able to bend over and pick up the crumbs off the floor. Now I am 73 and I can't bend over," said Machtay, who in the early 1990s worked as a typesetter for three years for the Bay Area Reporter. "I thought it might make sense to have a younger roommate here who could wipe up the crumbs."
Bringing on a roommate would also help him cover his housing costs, an issue that will become more astute when he eventually retires from his teaching job. He was at first matched with a young man from Turkey who ended up leaving the country before he moved in due to needing to care for his ailing mother.
Then, sadly, Machtay's best friend suddenly died in April, leaving his younger roommate in a precarious housing situation. The landlord gave him an eviction notice, so Machtay suggested he sign up with Home Match so they could be paired together.
After a bit of negotiating over how much rent he would pay, they came to $1,200 a month and an agreement on what duties around the house he would oversee. (Machtay's roommate, who is straight, did not want to be interviewed for this article.)
"Home Match wrote up the understanding. He is responsible for the kitchen, dishes, and garbage," said Machtay, adding that he liked how Home Match handled the background check and other matters that come with finding a roommate.
Home Match aims to assist the senior homeowners it works with in several Bay Area counties to remain in their homes by matching them with a roommate who can help cover their housing costs. It primarily works with older homeowners, with those seeking housing via the program typically in their 20s and 30s. Anyone age 18 or older with a room to rent or in need of an affordable living situation can access the program, which screens both homeowners and those seeking to rent if they are compatible with each other through lengthy interviews about their living preferences, from how tidy they are to if they have pets.
Before anyone moves in, the two people spend time together sharing a meal to get to know each other. At any point in the screening process, either person can decide it is not the right match.
"The people in the process decide. We make introductions, not placements," explained Luke R. Barnesmoore, who is queer and director of strategy for Home Match.
It has long taken into consideration the unique needs of LGBTQ seniors who seek out the program, asking applicants with a room to rent and those seeking housing about their sexual orientation and gender identity. If living with another LGBTQ person is a priority, they can register that with the program.
"We have had folks come to the program seeking housing and made statements that it was clear to us they harbored hateful views toward folks of protected classes and those folk have not been matched in our program," said Barnesmoore.
And should issues arise once a match is made, the nonprofit provides support to help the people work out their disagreements and remain living together.
"It is fundamental to make sure these matches move smoothly once folks move in together," said Barnesmoore.
In San Francisco, 75% of the people providing homes via Home Match are the primary tenant of the apartment they are renting and have a second bedroom they can lease out. Many have been in their units for decades, so it makes more financial sense for them to find a roommate rather than move out.
"Their cost is well below market rate. It is cheaper for them to stay in that apartment than move to a studio," said Barnesmoore. "But they are aging, living on a fixed income and struggling with costs, so they need to sublet the extra bedroom they have to be able to afford that housing."
Housing insecurity
Various surveys over the years have found housing insecurity to be top of mind for many older LGBTQ adults who fear being priced out of San Francisco and the Bay Area. The issue was highlighted by the recently released results of a statewide survey based on the answers of 4,037 older LGBTQIA+ adults living in California.
It noted that, "Social connections are important for the health and wellbeing of an individual over their lifespan. Isolation and loneliness are risk factors for a variety of negative health outcomes in aging, including worsened cognitive decline and mortality. LGBTQIA+ older adults may have challenges as they age in maintaining robust social networks due to a lack of acceptance from their family or community, and may also lean on support from within LGBTQIA+ communities."
According to the report on its findings, titled "Survey of LGBTQIA+ Older Adults in California: From Challenges to Resilience," about one in eight of the respondents reported worry about housing stability with a current place to live. More than one in five respondents reported worries about having enough money for nutritious meals, per the report.
Whereas their straight counterparts may be able to rely on children or their biological families for support, many older LGBTQ adults don't have children, may be estranged from their biological families, and are seeing their chosen family members begin to pass away in their old age.
"Solo aging, I think, is a fundamental reason why a lot of older people end up relying on our program," said Barnesmoore. "We know for the older sections of the LGBTQ community, there are lots of folks who didn't end up having children."
Martha Knutzen, a lesbian just reappointed to San Francisco's Disability and Aging Services Commission, noted addressing the housing needs for LGBTQ seniors has been a critical concern for decades. It came up during hearings in the mid-1990s the city's Human Rights Commission held.
"It is definitely pronounced," said Knutzen, adding that seniors living alone also face isolation and the health issues it can exacerbate. "Isolation, people should understand, is an actual health issue. It is one way one's health is affected, and of course, it leads to early and premature death."
While there is much governmental support and focus on keeping seniors safely housed in their homes, just as important is addressing their quality of life and ensuring they are not left home alone, said Knutzen.
"People might be living in their homes, but being able to connect to other people is absolutely essential to their lives," she said.
Even if it is simply sharing a meal with a roommate or coffee in the morning, that personal connection "becomes really important for people," noted Barnesmoore.
"It doesn't need to be in-depth companionship where you see someone all the time," he said. "Just seeing someone in the morning or when you come home and they ask, 'How was your day?' Little interactions like that are so fundamental to the mental health of all of us."
Since his roommate moved in with him in July, Machtay told the B.A.R. that the situation has worked out well. While he had previously met him via his friend, Machtay was not well acquainted with him before having him move into his home.
With their work schedules differing, the two have the house to themselves at different times on weekdays. They see each other on weekends.
"I am very happy with it," Machtay said.
Home Match works in Marin, San Francisco, Alameda, and Contra Costa counties. To learn more about it, visit its website.
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