Dorothy Mazeau

Drawing on more than 20 years of experience of living in shared homes, Dorothy Mazeau (she/her) has poured her enthusiasm for this lifestyle into founding Golden HomeSharing Connections as a way to help others learn about the benefits of home-sharing and find compatible home-mates. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Sharing Housing Inc., a non-profit organization committed to education and advocacy for home-sharing across North America.

Dorothy earned her Bachelor of Architecture degree from Rhode Island School of Design. In the 1990’s, she became an advocate for the cohousing movement, serving on the Board of Directors for both the Cohousing Association of the United States and the Canadian Cohousing Network. Throughout her years in Canada, Dorothy has lived primarily in shared homes, both as a single mother and on into her senior years.

Report

The Canada HomeShare Program: Housing That Connects Us 

The Canada HomeShare program, spearheaded by HelpAge Canada, facilitates affordable housing arrangements for older adults, promoting aging-in-place through intergenerational homesharing partnerships. By creating connections between older adults and post-secondary students, the program addresses social isolation and fosters a sense of belonging, while the fellow’s research efforts will aim to understand the benefits and challenges of homesharing in various community contexts, supporting long-term community engagement and development alongside local seniors’ services organizations. 

HelpAge Canada, founded in 1975, started as “Help the Aged Canada,” focusing on representation for older persons in Canadian charities and has since become a registered charity dedicated to promoting healthy aging, forming a global network with HelpAge International in 1983. HelpAge Canada collaborates with community-based seniors’ services organizations to tailor solutions, aiming to enhance the lives of older individuals and their communities both domestically and internationally, with a vision for a world where everyone can age with dignity. 

Read Dorothy’s blog: When Friends Form a Family

In this blog post, Dorothy examines how home-sharing can combat loneliness and offer affordable housing solutions for older adults.