Sunshine Home Share Colorado

Background Statement

Sunshine Home Share Colorado (Sunshine), founded in 2015 by Alison Joucovsky, licensed geriatric care manager, is leading the way in aging-in-place solutions for seniors in Colorado. With 25 years of experience as a senior advocate and aging-in-community program director, Joucovsky's concern over how to meet the needs of our skyrocketing senior population, which is expected to live longer and more independently than previous generations, crystallized into an innovative solution that is modeled after successful home share efforts around the country. Joucovsky's own research of 65 programs nationally and input from two local area focus groups led to Sunshine's formation. Sunshine is the only nonprofit home sharing program in the state that specifically targets seniors over age 55.

After establishing the organization as a 501(c)(3) public charity in 2015, Joucovsky and her team of committed volunteers spent 2016 testing the program design, seeking input from program participants, families and community organizations to make modifications to ensure successful matches. The organization receives a generous in-kind donation of office space from the Dominican Home Health Agency. Sunshine is currently working to build capacity through funding, community partnerships, marketing and outreach, etc., as it implements its first shared housing matches. In 2016, the organization implemented a customized database to track program activities and client outcomes. Sunshine is a placement host site for the University of Denver and Metro State's Master's in Social Work program, which provides social work interns who assist with client intake. Joucovsky serves on the National Shared Housing Resource Center board, which shares best practices. Sunshine has been able to transition from a volunteer run organization to a paid staff of three and is experiencing growth.