If you've ever had a roommate, you’ve experienced homesharing.
It’s a way to save money, or split up chores, or just building companionship. Those benefits can be amplified in a tight housing market such as Humboldt’s. However, finding the right person to live with can feel like rolling the dice.
So that’s where Julie Andre comes in. She’s the matchmaker behind Northcoast Homeshare. She matches people looking for housing with people that have some extra space in their home. Each person has their own private space while sharing certain common areas in exchange for rent, services, or both. No two homeshare situations are alike; each is tailored to the needs and desires of the individual people involved. The process includes background and reference checks, an interview, inspection of the rental space, and follow-up after a match is made.
For more information, or to see a list of available rooms, contact the Northcoast Homeshare program coordinator at homeshare@a1aa.org or call 707-442-3763 x213.
Transcript:
SPAGNA: My name is Michael Spagna, interim president of Cal Poly Humboldt, and I’m here with my colleague…
FLAMER: ….My name is Keith Flamer, and I’m the president of College of the Redwoods.
ANDRE: My name is Julie Andre, and I am the program coordinator of Northcoast Homeshare.
FLAMER: Explain to us exactly what Homeshare is and how it actually works.
ANDRE: Home sharing is shared housing. There’s a lot of organic home sharing happening in our community already—especially among college students. What we help with is connecting older home providers who have a spare bedroom and, for whatever reason, want someone to live with them. Maybe it’s extra income, maybe it’s a combination of rent and help around the house. Our program facilitates the match and helps ensure the situation is safe for everyone involved.
SPAGNA: When we match students for dorm living, we ask a lot of preference questions—everything from smoking to lifestyle habits. Does your matching process get that detailed?
ANDRE: Yes and no. Many home providers come to us with basic preferences—no smoking, no drinking—but we go deeper into lifestyle alignment. When does someone use the kitchen? Are they home a lot? Are they an introvert or an extrovert? There are many pieces, and you want the planets to align.
FLAMER: What does your day look like?
ANDRE: A lot of direct service. I respond to inquiries from people figuring out whether home sharing is an option for them. I also do outreach, handle administrative tasks, track inquiries—anything that helps us refine and grow the program.
FLAMER: Tell us a success story.
ANDRE: In 2021 or 2022, I worked with a woman on a very fixed income who needed someone to share her space. They’ve lived together ever since. They live independently but appreciate each other’s presence—not as family, but as individuals without all the history that comes with family relationships. That’s feedback we hear often from older home sharers.
FLAMER: So it’s a chance for them to start over, isn’t it?
ANDRE: Not just start over, but to be who they are without all the baggage.
SPAGNA: Thirty years of memories you get to set aside.
ANDRE: Yes. You get to be your own person around someone new. Family is wonderful, of course, but we keep growing as people. We’re not the same as we were 20 or 30 years ago. Many long-term home sharers tell us, “I get to be the person I want to be around this person.”
SPAGNA: What gives you professional satisfaction at the end of the day?
ANDRE: We’re making a lot of matches for a county our size—numbers similar to other counties in California and Oregon. But it’s not just about quantity. It’s about quality, and honestly, it’s about hope. You could be in a new housing situation next month. Meanwhile, the waitlist for affordable housing around here is three to five years. We provide another option—and hope.
FLAMER: We’re probably going to walk away thinking about that phrase you said: providing hope. What do you want our audience to take away?
ANDRE: I want people to spread the word. Tell friends, family, and your wider network about this resource. Not every county—especially rural counties—has something like this. Trinity and Mendocino counties sometimes call us, and they don’t have a program like this. People there have to go it alone. But we’re here, we’re local, you can talk to a real person—so let people know we exist.
FLAMER: Well, you just did. Thank you.
SPAGNA: Thank you.
FLAMER: And I love your sticker: “Aging equals living.” I’m taking that with me—figuratively, not literally.
ANDRE: We all started aging the moment we were born.
FLAMER: Amen. I feel that every morning when I wake up.
ANNCR: From Eureka’s Area 1 Agency on Aging, you’ve been listening to Michael Spagna and Keith Flamer talking with Julie Andre. We’ll put links to the North Coast Home Share program on KHSU.org. Thank you for listening to Talk Humboldt on KHSU.
ANNCR: Produced at Cal Poly Humboldt.
