Speaker 1 00:00:19 If you're caring for aging parents, you need parent projects. Connect. Here's why. First, you get access to a Verified business network, so you're only working with the most trustworthy vendors who won't take advantage of your situation. Second parent projects guides you through modules and tasks on health, financial, real estate, and medical. So you're always prepared for what's next. Third, you can invite family members into your project so your family is in the know and working together. Get started with a free 30 day trial
[email protected].
Speaker 2 00:01:15 Hey, everybody. In our last, uh, home is where the heart is segment. We wanna bring home our own role as family caregivers, and we wanna bring that into focus, the Golden Girls Television Series. It may have opened the door to a lot more than laughter as we grew up. It may be providing families today with a growing, uh, that, that have a growing support role in, uh, in a their parent project. Some kind of novel option to help get 'em through the next step, say, we're gonna talk with Amy Ford of Silver Nest, and she's gonna walk us through this novel solution and how it just might add a little more love and laughter into your parent project. Standby Parent Projects podcast starts now.
Speaker 0 00:02:15 You're
Speaker 3 00:02:16 Listening to parent Projects, a family media and technology Group production. Now here's your host, Tony Siber.
Speaker 2 00:02:25 Well, guys, uh, you can probably hear the theme song rolling through the back of your head and probably licensing reasons and jumping in. I, I just, while we wanna approach it, that Golden Girls approach, when I think back of watching a, a group of women looking to find comfort in each other, being able to come home to not an empty house and changing different parts of their life, or they're changing parts of their life in community, is just something that brought a lot of love and laughter in my heart, even as a kid. And today, I, I'm really excited, Amy, to have you join us on the show and talk us through how families are using concepts like that in real life today to not only help their parents, which we've always been looking towards in the parent project, but in a little bit of self-care and understand how we walk our way through a parent project. Amy Ford, thanks for joining us.
Speaker 4 00:03:14 Thank you for inviting me.
Speaker 2 00:03:16 So talk, talk to us about, uh, silver Nest, your organization. Uh, how does it come to play and, and, and how does this relate with what you guys do?
Speaker 4 00:03:25 Sure. So we are an online solution. Um, we are an online home sharing platform, and we're, our primary goal is to help hosts and home seekers find a compatible home sharing arrangement. Um, we call it Home Suite shared home. And we're there to provide the guidance, the tools and the necessary support to help someone find, uh, someone that they can live joyfully with, um, potentially later in life.
Speaker 2 00:03:56 I love that you're, so how do you, um, how, how'd you come about into that? I mean, was it, uh, what, uh, developing this type of a model, was there a need in your life? Did you, did you have a parent project in your life or something that helped you be able to see where this was coming from or what's your, how how'd you come into this?
Speaker 4 00:04:14 Sure. So the, the founding of Silver Nest story is one that is probably very familiar to many, and then how I got here, we can talk about next. But the, the co-founder of Silver Nest, essentially, her mother had, had never lived alone. She lived in their family home, got married, moved in with her husband, um, when her husband passed, she was living alone for the first time in her life, later in life. And her mom didn't need any help. Um, but it didn't feel great for her to live alone. And so they found her a roommate, and the, the light bulb went off and the co co-founder Wendy Burkhart in her mind to say, how do we democratize access to this type of solution for people to have like a place to go so they're not sort of DIYing it, um, on the side and, uh, potentially getting into situations that weren't ideal because there weren't, wasn't enough infrastructure to properly vet and screen and, you know, um, ensure compatibility.
Speaker 4 00:05:17 And so that's sort of how Silver Nest was born. Um, company's about eight years old, and I came to Silver Nest, actually knew the co-founder, um, from the day they launched. I <laugh>, I knew her. Um, I used to be at the National Council on Aging for a little over seven years working on financial wellness projects for older adults. Um, also administering housing counseling programs, foreclosure prevention, counseling programs, um, equity release, um, education programs. Basically just ways to think about the home later in life as an asset and how to potentially strategically utilize it, it to have the resources that you need. And so I would, you know, audit these housing counseling sessions, um, for reporting purposes. And I'd be listening to our counselors on our monthly calls. And the situations were, were pretty dire. Um, yeah. And people were potentially living in cars. They were, you know, and the, the counselors were bringing in family members and churches and ensuring they were accessing all the benefits they were eligible for, and the budget still didn't work.
Speaker 4 00:06:30 And so, when I learned about home sharing and this concept that someone could just open up some space in their home, earn a little income, I was like, this is actually a real solution. This is not a list of, you know, meditate every day. You know, like, that's not actually like a real <laugh>. I mean, it's real. It's real. Okay. But I mean, when, when people are, are in a, in a hole, you know, when we're thinking about our, we're, we're exhausted and we're depleted, and, um, we're looking for real solutions that can help solve our problems, um, this is one that most people can do. Um, and you can actually earn income and stay in your home.
Speaker 2 00:07:11 I, I think, phenomenal more than concept. Like you said, this is something that really, when you, when you chew on it, these solve those in your face problems, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, loneliness and coming home after the end of being exhausted, uh, somebody being able to watch over animals like plants, right? <laugh> awesome. Killing, I'm awesome at it, right? Or those, and you don't wanna be right just, or, or just, yeah. Some other homes themselves, houses themselves are kind of living, breathing things. They want to be full. They want people moving around in them for things to be working well. You know, water well turned on and turned off. And so if we're gone for extended periods of time, obviously we all know that that can create chaos. And, and I love that this, this presents that on the other side, practically, uh, you know, I, I had a law enforcement career in the back.
Speaker 2 00:08:00 I can understand how to run background checks or to look to somebody, but the average person doesn't have ac didn't have access to that kind of a tool or even to know, you know, what are you looking for that and what is important to do that mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So, uh, so I, I, I think those are, that's great how those have come together in there and you're really on it. I wanna dive down. We're gonna take our, our first break here, but when we come back, I wanna dive down through some of those, those common questions that family members have when they first come into the situation. So if you're looking at, uh, as your caregiver, you're walking into an empty house, you're looking for some other solution to help you pull it together, and you're open for a little love and laughter on that. Stay tuned with Amy Ford and Silver Nest as we talk through where home is, where the heart is, stand by.
Speaker 5 00:08:44 Sometimes I'd like to smack old age, right in the kisser. Wow.
Speaker 6 00:08:49 I always get the best parking spot.
Speaker 7 00:08:51 I think she needs a little more help.
Speaker 8 00:08:53 Monday,
Speaker 10 00:08:55 What I really need is a boyfriend that can drive at night.
Speaker 5 00:08:59 I can make a fashion statement out of anything.
Speaker 11 00:09:03 I will be fabulous.
Speaker 9 00:09:05 I have a little crush on my finals. With Comfort Care at your side, you can live your best life possible. We know families can't be there 24 7, which is why we can help with as much or as little home care as you need from medication reminders and meal prep to everyday chores and errands so you can live in your own home on your terms.
Speaker 5 00:09:26 I wouldn't let aging stop me from being me
Speaker 9 00:09:29 A call comfort care now and let us create your personalized care plan and find the perfect caregiver match. Can
Speaker 10 00:09:36 You show that number again? She was texting
Speaker 9 00:09:39 Together with Comfort Care. You can both live your best life possible.
Speaker 2 00:09:43 Hey, welcome back again this week we've got Amy Ford with Silver Nest, and she's breaking down what we just kind of comes to our mind off of that, that Golden Girls approach we may have seen where people are making use of the resources of your own home. Not just, uh, as a, as a, um, as an asset and a financial asset to turn there, but, but maybe as an opportunity, as a, a place of better wellness by finding good roommates that come in some way that it can help you keep it all together as more and more poll comes on you inside your parent project. Amy, thanks so much for joining us today, and I hope I grabbed that right and we're still accurate and off point. Yes. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, so, uh, and sticking with the, the challenges, this being a real, being able to think through having, um, home suite, shared home is that, uh mm-hmm. <affirmative> and having that element of that, right? So talk to me, you've got, you've got two, a couple of different audiences you are great at putting together, right? You've got, um, hosts and home seeks mm-hmm. <affirmative>. What, what's that look like when, who is, who is, what are they when they're coming to you, what do they kind of look like?
Speaker 4 00:10:48 Sure. So our hosts are most frequently women in their mid sixties. That's the most common sort of profile of our user. And they are often looking for a boost in income. And on average, our hosts on our site earn about 800, $850 a month. That's the national average. Um, but they charge is completely up to them. But they're often looking to solve an income gap that is either come from a job loss or paying for college, or paying for caregiving for their, their aging parents. Um, or I think a lot of our users talk about the fact that they have saved for retirement, but they've already depleted what they have saved due to rising medical costs, you know, inflation, all, all the things that we see in the news every day. Yeah. And then, uh, but the, there is a, a nice secondary component to the consideration for that additional income that often when we dig a bit deeper, we're learning more about moments of transition for hosts. They're maybe going through a divorce, maybe they're changing jobs, maybe they're moving more into a more serious caregiving role, and there's a reflection on what do I really want my next 40, 50 years to actually look like? I'm gonna be, there's this gift of longevity that is so incredible that many generations have never enjoyed before. And so how do I wanna use the time that I didn't even anticipate I was really going to have? So there's, there's a, a layer beneath that initial conversation about extra income.
Speaker 4 00:12:27 Oh,
Speaker 2 00:12:28 Stick sticking on the, on the host side. Um, so are they, this isn't, um, you know, what's the average commitment that they're looking into This? Is this, uh, are they setting this out for the next year or two years or something to that? Are they looking at a couple of months? What's, how does that, how does that play?
Speaker 4 00:12:44 It is completely up to the host and the home seeker to come to an agreement on the duration. We see the, the average duration is about nine months. So it's typically a longer term solution, although we do help pair people based on the durations that they're open to. And then we also see people doing a trial period, you know, a 30 day or a three month period, um, home sharing agreement.
Speaker 2 00:13:10 That's great. And so you're not, you're not picking up a couch surfer, you're picking up somebody who's looking for a place to mm-hmm. <affirmative> to in their own, which I think we're gonna talk about now in those home seekers and the profiles of mm-hmm. <affirmative>, those type of people, Ty, Ty typically are, right? Mm-hmm.
Speaker 4 00:13:23 <affirmative>. Yep. Yeah. Our home seekers are, again, mostly women, um, in their fifties, so a bit younger. This, the home seeker pool has a bit more diversity in it overall, um, particularly in terms of age, but they are responding to rising rents that have just absolutely skyrocketed, and they're looking for a more affordable housing choice. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> and sharing, uh, a house with someone is obviously more affordable than having your own place. And on top of that, they're, they're not only gonna be paying less in rent, um, they're gonna be sharing other expenses in a way that they wouldn't if they had their own place. So shared internet, um, you know, and we honestly see a lot of, uh, sort of negotiation of rent. So this is interesting, what we ask our hosts when they're signing up, are you open to reducing the rent for help around the house?
Speaker 4 00:14:22 And we're very explicit that when we say help around the house, it means chores. It does not mean no personal care, no license, nothing, nothing like that. Right? And so we often see people negotiating around snow removal, lawn care, pet sitting, transportation, light meal preparation, and host pulling down the costs of, um, of the rent, which is just a really nice opportunity, not only for the home seeker to get a place that's a bit more affordable, but for the host to, to get a little extra help, maybe keep them off the ladder when they're changing the air filter or whatever the case is, you know? Yeah. That affords them longer in the home.
Speaker 2 00:15:00 Right. It, it also becomes that, you know, when you look, if you look at the solution for a parent, as as, I mean, so this is a solution that's great for us caregivers, it's great. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, I think for level two, the parents too, if you're looking for the solution of the parent, sounds like maybe you're starting to, you're really starting to step into a gap that home health, um, has been trying to go back and reach in and touch, but they've, they've really got somebody who's got the higher level qualifications and some certifications and stuff, but that's not what you really need a mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you need a, my, my son calls him human beings, right? So you need a human being to like step up there and just, just to help with those types of things. This starts to solve some of those issues, uh, ahead of time.
Speaker 4 00:15:43 Yes, yes. In particular, some of the conversations we've had with some home care companies indicate that people are paying for overnight in-home care, even though they don't have any specific needs overnight, but they're concerned that there's a potential for a fall or some sort of, um, event. Yeah. And they don't have enough resources to pay for all the care that they need during the day. So when we think about the role a roommate could play in that situation, you know, the roommate is a human being. <laugh>. If, if they hear someone calling for help in the middle of the night, they're gonna call 9 1 1. Um, and they're, they're there as the, just in Caser, you know? Um, and then if they're not paying for that overnight care, those resources can be reallocated to more daytime care. So I think there's a lot of opportunity to build that kind of community where, you know, there's others around that are willing to, uh, pick up the phone if there should be a need, and yeah. Not having to pay for, for every component of support.
Speaker 2 00:16:50 Now, I if, uh, and here's one a little outside of the box, if you've got a couple of people who think that maybe they're, they live in a similar community and think that might mm-hmm. <affirmative> be a type of relationship they're looking for, but are looking for that middle ground organization to help facilitate how that comes together. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, is that, is that something that's come up or does that, um,
Speaker 4 00:17:10 So our platform specifically supports the, um, someone who has space to share, getting a housemate. That person can get several housemates, but we, um, we can, we can't support at the moment, renters coming together into a new property, but we're helping if the host can choose to open up three of their bedrooms if they'd like on our platform, and Sure. Coordinate that one. Sure. Or,
Speaker 2 00:17:33 Or, or I guess in particular off of this would be maybe, um, maybe, you know, someone from church or from, uh mm-hmm. <affirmative> senior community or someplace like that, that you think would make a good, but you need the background done against better maybe using you, you know, use a service like this, provides that middleman, right. That takes some of the emotion out of the negotiation. Yes. That can be hard. That can be really, really overwhelming too, when you start thinking about that, that end of something. You guys handle that whole side. You guys can We do.
Speaker 4 00:18:04 Yeah. And it's really fascinating because most of our users haven't lived with others in a roommate capacity for some time. Maybe they've had a roommate in their life, but it's been a long time. And so we try to force function through our tools, the things that we think people should do, meaning identity verification, background checks, um, we have checklists for how to further vet and screen, you know, asking for references, um, Googling them, you know, like what might you find and, and how to do that and what to think the, the other, um, and the compatibility piece is, is pretty huge as well. And we ask questions that are logical, but at the time, maybe you wouldn't think to ask them if you were just doing this on your own. For instance, we ask about pets and smoking and, you know, logical things, but we also ask, are you comfortable with firearms in the home?
Speaker 4 00:18:58 You know, and some people are a little surprised by that, but it's a conversation that people have to have around what you are comfortable with. And if you're not, you know, you should be able to easily identify that. So what's what's interesting too is we don't not like, show you someone who may not be fully compatible with you, but you can hover over them and see where you're aligned and where you're not. So you can then have the proper conversation. Because if someone, if I say, no, I don't want any firearms, but someone says, oh, I have, you know, these, these, um, you know, guns in my family, and like, you know, it's like, yes, of course, it's not what I, what I mean, you know, and pets can see a lot of that too. Some of people say, no pets. And it's like, well, I have this turtle. It's like, okay, well that's not what I meant to
Speaker 2 00:19:44 <laugh>
Speaker 4 00:19:45 Surface the, the things that are important and then let people make their own decisions and choices from there. The other component that we offer is a home sharing agreement template, which is like a lease, but it has addendums that include house rules, um, helping to articulate what's shared and what's not. Guest policies, chore charts. If things ha like if there's a miscommunication, how will we communicate? Will we do face-to-face? Will we email? You know, there's just things that if you've already articulated them and documented them, when little things come up, because we are humans and we're messy and conflict is normal, we at least have a path for addressing that, um, by using these tools.
Speaker 2 00:20:30 Well, and I think that's critically important. Much as in, in most of our professional lives. We've got comfortable learning that contracts are for when things don't go well, right? Yeah. So that you have an agreement ahead of time. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, okay, well, life's complicated and messy, and if we don't agree this is how we're gonna resolve this thing thing, or this is what's gonna set, you know, what we can go back to, to visit, don't forget to continue applying that. And this is a great application of, of that, um, as, as we're going forward. I love that. Are there, what are some of the top, what are some of the first questions that people ask you guys when they, when they get on
Speaker 4 00:21:05 People, people wanna know first and foremost, like, are people actually doing this? Like, am I weird for considering nsurance? Truly, I mean, they, they don't, they want, there's a, to be honest, there's sometimes a little sentiment of like, if I have to do this to earn income, I, maybe there's a, a bit of embarrassment or something that's a little bit under the surface there that we're able to easily point to tons of stories, testimonials, blogs, media, h coverage, showing them that many people are living this way. Um, the Harvard Center for Joint Housing Studies, uh, also released some, some data about the increase in, um, non-related older adults living together has just grown exponentially. And so anytime we can share that kind of thought leadership, um, sometimes that reduces the, the, the stress and the conversation. So there's, there's that initial like, am I, is this, is this really a thing?
Speaker 4 00:22:06 Like, are people really doing this? Yeah. And then I think the next is, can I actually live happily with someone? And sometimes we, we think that, that that's about whether or not the host would be happy with who moves in, but sometimes it's actually our own potential insecurities of like, oh my gosh, I haven't lived with others for so long. I'm terrible to live with. I'm set in my ways. No one would be happy here. So again, getting back to the compatibility component, and we're able to show you that yes, you can, you can have a say in kind of who is in your home, and you can articulate your expectations. And I think maybe one of the, one of the big things after that is helping them articulate what their expectations are. Because people, um, they wanna know if they can still preserve privacy. They wanna know how to protect their, their belongings. They wanna know like, can I actually do this successfully? And I think when we can bring them in and show them, you know, a dashboard of people who they're potentially, um, matched with for them to communicate with, that just kind of lowers the temperature a little bit.
Speaker 2 00:23:21 The, the comment about, uh, you know, people doing that, ah, maybe you didn't say shame, shame came to mind sometimes, is that because sits back there, well, if I have to do this to rate, they may make money or to work from that, uh, that's fascinating. I mean, I am a con, one way that my minds went to approach it, which hasn't even come up off of this yet, is just making the most of every resource that's there mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So I've got mm-hmm. I, I have a Benedictine background, right. So in within that, we try to, you try to not any, anything that you have should constantly should be utilized if you're not utilizing it to its fullest. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you want to get into somebody who can or invite others to so that you know that book or that you know that item.
Speaker 2 00:24:04 And we see a lot of people as they get older in life, as we talked on with Matt Paxton and our guest last week, and legacy and other things. Right. So, you know, with, uh, the ability to pass something into somebody else that can make use of it, that can be a valuable thing. I would say apply that to this situation. Yes. If you have a large home, just think from that and the joy that you, and that you're pr that you're helping somebody that's really looking from that maybe within their own, their own journey. Absolutely. What a what? Yeah,
Speaker 4 00:24:36 I was just gonna say we have, um, a couple of things that sort of a Silver Nest ethos. Um, we, on the 4th of July, while we celebrate July 4th, of course, we also celebrate Happy Interdependence Day, because I think what we're really focused on is that living with and among others can not only be functionally beneficial, but it can be joyful and it can be a way to, to be connected to other humans. And you know, this the sense that success is deemed by owning your own single family home and your own little fiefdom.
Speaker 2 00:25:13 Yeah.
Speaker 4 00:25:14 It's a, it's a bit of a challenge to actually live that way. Happily. Um, you couldn't become really isolated and strapped. Um, and so this idea that if we can shift some of our mindset around shared space, shared resources, and the fact that it is normal and expected for us to, as humans live among and with others and depend on others.
Speaker 2 00:25:38 Yeah.
Speaker 4 00:25:38 It, it just sort of like, it can kind of, again, take pressure off.
Speaker 2 00:25:43 Yeah. You don't, you don't have to do this by yourself. I mean, that's one of, from parent projects is you, you're really not, I I got into this as most people get into industry, into the industry at senior living, after going through a family situation where you're like, wow, that was so much harder than it needed to be. And I thought I was by myself when I kicked off. And now I realize there are hundreds, no thousands, no millions. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. There are millions of people going through this right now. Yes. But we, uh, I, I love that outlook on it. A Amy. So we're, we're gonna take our last break here, uh, for this, for the segment, um, or for the show. And when we come back, I wanna tie some of those off, some of those, those top issues there. I also would like to maybe lean forward a little bit and think about what could you, what could someone do at home if you just hit that spark, what are some things they should be thinking about, uh, in making a call like this up front to get themselves organized and get set?
Speaker 2 00:26:39 So, stay tuned. With Amy Port of Silver Nest,
Speaker 12 00:26:44 You're thinking about buying or selling. Maybe you are retiring, downsizing, or a major life event has made you consider a move. A seniors real estate specialist or S R E s has unique training in helping 50 plus home buyers and sellers. Why ask a seniors real estate specialist to assist you? An S R E S understands the decision to move, can be difficult and will provide you with an approach customized to suit your needs. They can help you navigate your choices because they have experience with 50 plus buyers and sellers, and want to serve as a resource and guide. An S R E S will patiently support you through each step. They will guide you through the major financial and lifestyle decisions involved in selling your family's home or moving to a new residence. They'll also tailor the marketing process to fit your needs and will be there when you need them. An S R E S can draw upon a network of other professionals focused on 50 plus clients. Your S R E S can provide referrals to a variety of resources at the local, state and national level. And on the internet, they're knowledgeable about senior housing options and can refer you to another S R E S. If you're planning to move outside the area, you can count on a senior's real estate specialist to guide you through the process of selling or buying your home, making the transaction less stressful and more successful.
Speaker 2 00:28:14 Well, we are, we've been breaking down, uh, the, the common problem that many of us run into, which is, is that ramp up for taking care of a loved one, uh, comes into place. Sometimes that leaves a little bit of hole back in our own homes, or maybe we're looking forward and it's some type of solution for our parents that needs to put them into a little bit more community. I think bottom line, Amy, uh, Ford, who's joining us with Silver Ness today just drove home in the last segment. Amy, you just, you nailed, uh, you really nailed it. I think with the community and the importance of that as human beings, we are communal beings. It's an important side. It provides reprieve. Uh, and once I, if you've got that first step to get over the inertia, you can accept that. And you should accept that.
Speaker 2 00:29:01 By the way, those of you that are home that are watching this, if you're having a hard time accepting that, go to parent projects.dot com. It'll help you with different articles to put that into perspective. But again, there is, there are a lot of people out here dealing with this. Once you accept that idea that in community, it's a lot easier to get through this and to understand your unique project, which is unique to your family, and then you start finding the best place to put in resources like this. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, uh, in Silver Nest. Uh, so you have stepped in, you've filled a quick recap. Um, you guys have really filled in that gap in a, a lot of ways. First of all, families tend to come to you. We've heard, um, usually on an income question, I'm looking to make a, some extra income as it pushes through, which seems in discovery conversations, uh, that renting out a portion of their home that in which they own, or if they're looking to find someplace like that, this is a solution that can safely pair up good home seekers with hosts.
Speaker 2 00:29:59 Uh, and, and to find a good, safe solution for them. Utilizing your platform, it sounds like you go a step four, you know, a a little step beyond that in your discovery process and how you do what you do, uh, of, of starting to self-discovery of, okay, well, how to get to the situation, what this is, and understanding and, and taking account of what's mostly important to you. Cuz now you have to communicate it to find a good, good roommate. So it's a great exercise. Yes. I love that. What are, what are some things that, that, that's a, that's kind of a big lift. I mean, it's almost, you think you're going in thinking, oh, I'm gonna make some extra money working off of this. And as you get into it, you realize, wow, if I can do a little introspective look here, I'm probably gonna be a lot happier with the outcome. How, how do people prepare themselves to do that? What are, what are some ways that you guys have seemed to have worked real successfully?
Speaker 4 00:30:48 Sure. I think a good tip is being very honest with ourselves around, or oneself around what your expectations are and what you need to make it a successful home sharing arrangement. I think sometimes we downplay or maybe underestimate, or we wanna be easy breezy, but dishes in the sink drive us nuts. Like, you just have to say that you have to own it. You have to own your eccentricities and the things that, excuse me, the things that you care about. Um, and I think that reflecting on those early and, and that instead of saying, well, if that comes up, I'll worry about it later. Um, I think that reflection on what are your expectations and what are your needs is really important. I also think in terms of getting ready, thinking about duration and what you're open to, um, maybe considering a trial period can be a really good idea.
Speaker 4 00:31:47 Most of the time they end up being longer term relationships, especially if you've done the work of, of communicating upfront what all those expectations are and documenting those, those things. <laugh> is really important as well. I think that when people also physically start to make space, it helps, um, with the process as well. So even if you haven't found someone yet, but you've started to clean out the closet in the spare room, or you've started to give away some of the furniture that you don't need, you start to make some room in the pantry. You know, there's like things that people can do from a physical perspective that starts to help open up maybe your, your mind, your heart for like someone else to come into the home and it starts to become a little bit more real. Um, and I also think like it's, it's not forever.
Speaker 4 00:32:42 You can end something that's not working out. I think there's a lot of, sometimes there's a little bit of fear like, oh, if I do this and it doesn't work, like what am I gonna do? It's like, well just put parameters in the lease of what will happen if it doesn't work out. And our, our sample home sharing agreement does have some of that language in there. I think that the risk of doing nothing is higher than trying something new like this. And I think that we've seen so many people grow and blossom in their friendship, and, but it does also doesn't have to be a friendship. I I sometimes I get a little carried away because we have all these wonderful stories of people that yeah. Lived together for years and do really enjoy each other's company. It doesn't have to be that way. You can say, this is strictly just roommate relationship, and that's okay with both of us. Um, I think again, all comes back to that, that initial reflection of like, what is it that I would want? And how is it that I wanna live in this home? What do I need for this to work? And then finding someone who is also okay with those expectations.
Speaker 2 00:33:47 Yeah. Well, in particular, if finances are playing a role while you are dealing with a loved one, chances, our finances are gonna play a role for you as you step into that role too. And so opening your, your mind and your heart into understanding that as well. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> and that proximity of other people around, I can only think is also gonna condition your heart to be what makes you easier for your own children to work with or family to work with as they're trying to situations and solutions around you. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And, and, and it'll be something that you desire and something that you want. Yeah. I love that. Uh, any, any tips or anything when having conversations, uh, about this with a family member? If you're, if this is something you're thinking, oh, this might work really well for, for, for my dad. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you might really enjoy having that, or my mom, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, what would be any, any things to think about if we wanna start that conversation or ways to kick that off?
Speaker 4 00:34:46 I think that, again, pointing to actual people who are doing it. So finding these testimonials and these stories of people that are living together, um, as they get a bit older, again, points to the fact that this is a real thing. Um, and people don't feel like the barrier to entry is that high. I also think just there's, it's very low stakes just to give it a shot. You don't have to commit to living with anyone. You know, you can just sign up and build a profile or build a listing and see what's out there in your area. You can always decide to delist or delete your account. I mean, there's no, just because you visit the site doesn't mean you're <laugh> you're required to proceed. So. Right. I think learning about it and listening, um, and reading the testimonials of others just helps it go a long way.
Speaker 4 00:35:37 I also think that we, we have some content that we've created around hosts that do this actually as a service to their community. So maybe they actually don't need the income, but they've got the space. So they're offering very affordable rent for nurses and teachers and, you know, people who are working in these community critical jobs that need to live near where they're working, um, and don't have a lot of resources to, to live close to the city or whatever it may be. And so we actually do have, um, a partnership with AmeriCorps and a three in three states so that if you're serving in the AmeriCorps program and you don't, you don't earn very much money. And so a home sharing arrangement is very ideal for that. And so we've tried to appeal to alums who have participated in AmeriCorps Peace Corps, um, the Vista program.
Speaker 4 00:36:28 There's a lot of different, you know, national service programs and saying, Hey, remember what it was like when it was a little tough to to pay the bills? Um, would you consider as a service to your community renting out space? And, and even in the con outside of the context of those partnerships, we see people saying, I just wanna rent a room to someone who's, who needs it to a student, to someone who just needs a break. Um, and they'll put this in their profile. And so people can see that and, you know, they can connect.
Speaker 2 00:36:57 I, I love that the people are gonna be able to learn more about you guys from, from the parent projects.com website and within our other resources. But tell us where can they find you guys online? Where are people looking for for Silver Nest?
Speaker 4 00:37:11 Sure. Silver nest.com. There. It's <laugh>. And, uh, they can contact
[email protected]. That's our email. Awesome. And our customer service hours are front and center on our platform and, you know, contact us anytime to learn more
Speaker 2 00:37:31 Nationwide. Certain regions, what are the, what are they? Yeah.
Speaker 4 00:37:35 Yeah. We are available nationwide. We don't have robust inventory in every single market, of course. So that's, you know, part of the process is take a peak and see if there's any, you know, traction near you. Yeah. Um, before you decide to join.
Speaker 2 00:37:48 So I'll tell you out there, parent, parent projects, universe, uh, they're looking for more inventory. If, if this moved you in, in a way, shape, or form, uh, to do that, think about giving a given an idea that way. These are, these are great things. Happy to give a push off of that. And, uh, and boy, I, any, I just really appreciate you joining us today and helping take this thing that maybe just got a laugh out of us when we were younger. Uh, and you, you ac you really put it to ground in some meaningful stuff that's kind of deep too. God bless you.
Speaker 13 00:38:27 Well, that's it for the team this week, and thanks for joining us. If you've enjoyed the content, remember to subscribe and to share this episode on the app that you're using right now. Your reviews and your comments, they really help us expand our reach as well as our perspective. So if you have time, also drop us a note. Let us know how we're doing for tips and tools to clarify your parent project, simplify communication with your stakeholders and verify the professionals that you choose. You can find us on YouTube, follow us on Instagram and Facebook. Thanks again for trusting us. Until our next episode, behold and be held.
Speaker 3 00:38:59 Thank you for listening to this Parent Projects podcast production. To access our show notes, resources or forums, join us on your favorite social media platform or go to parent projects.com. This show is for informational and educational purposes only. Before making any decisions consulted professional credential in your local area. This show is copyrighted by Family Media and Technology Group Incorporated and Parent Projects llc. Written permissions must be granted before syndication or rebroadcast.
