4 GROUNDCOVER NEWS SENIOR RESOURCES Shared Housing: 40 years in the making WAYNE S. Groundcover vendor No. 615 ANGELINE TRAN Groundcover contributor It is a subject whose time has finally come. We interviewed Danielle Bryant of Washtenaw Housing Alliance (a coalition of over 30 non-profit and government entities committed to ending homelessness), who is the coordinator of WHA’s Shared Housing Project. To introduce Danielle: she came to Ann Arbor a little over 13 years ago while experiencing homelessness and has been connected to this community ever since. Her lived experience is what led her into social work, and she earned her degree from Eastern Michigan University. Danielle spent over five years with Avalon Housing, where she helped pilot and expand their harm reduction programs and supported the development of a community program at the Hickory Way Apartments. She is now with the WHA and is very excited about the relaunch of the Shared Housing Program and its anticipated impact on our community. As introductions were given, Angeline and I were very impressed with Danielle’s resume and found her to be a wealth of information on this subject. Wayne: Can you tell us a little bit about this program? Danielle: Sure, Wayne, it is called Shared Housing, and it is intended to match home seekers in need of affordable housing who have specific needs with the right home providers who have extra space in their homes. Participants must be at least 18 years old, and at least one of the participants must be 55 years old or older. There will be a lot of other prerequisites that we could write a whole notebook on with plenty of safeguards to put in place, but ultimately, it will be up to the home provider’s discretion. Shared housing is not emergency housing. We are trying to create an affordable housing option with existing under-utilized housing stock in the community, Wayne: Can you talk about why the program shut down after 40 years? Danielle: The previous program, known as HomeShare, run by the Housing Bureau for Seniors, was shut down because of COVID. WHA is trying to revive the program, which is now called Shared Housing. Wayne: What piqued WHA’s interest in reviving the program? Danielle: After going over it, I find it to be completely doable and something WHA should be playing a more active role in. Wayne: This sounds like you’re sold on this program! Danielle: Yes, Wayne, you’re right about that! After taking a close look at this program, I find it to be challenging, but with the right people who I am in the process of putting together, it could be a real winner in our community. I realize that there are a thousand paths to achieve the same goal of ending homelessness. Wayne: Well Danielle, Angeline and I are honored to be the ones to introduce you and your project, Shared Housing, to our readers. My main goal in this article was to do just that. We were happy to interview Danielle concerning the progress of the Shared Housing program. They are in the process of coming up with a plan. From what we’ve heard, it is innovative and progressive. Thank you very much for your time and information, Danielle! So, if you, the reader, find yourself really interested, you can go to whalliance.org/sharedhousing. This website explains this program and the people involved much better than I could, and will continue to reflect progress. DECEMBER 26, 2025 Danielle Bryant, Washtenaw Housing Alliance's Shared Housing Project Coordinator.
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