Home Sharing
The Home Sharing program is the primary focus of the CoAbode organization. It connects single mothers whose interests and parenting philosophies are compatible, with the purpose of sharing a home and raising their children together.
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How it works
CoAbode is a national organization with members in your area.
Register as a member on our website and do a search for other moms in your area. Our service connects moms in ‘need' of a house to connect with another mom in 'need' and then you get to know each other and go in search of a home to share. Sometimes, only sometimes can you find a member who already has a home to share.
From the CoAbode home page click on "Sign Up" to register and fill out a profile. Once you have filled out a profile you will receive an Activation email to verify your email address. You can then login into the 'members area' and do a search. If you find other moms you’d like to contact about house-sharing, you can email them using your own personal CoAbode Inbox from which to send and receive emails from other moms looking to house share.
IMPORTANT: CoAbode provides a venue for single moms to connect. You must be pro-active that means doing weekly searches and contacting each mom that looks compatible to you. If you wait for others to contact you, you are less likely to find a match. CoAbode facilitates the match.
Who does the home sharing program serve?
Statistics define it best. 33% of all households in America are headed by single parents. 14 million are single moms raising more than 25 million children alone. 41% live at or below the poverty level. 45.4% have multiple jobs.
While the hourly wage for women without children is 90% of a man's, the comparable figure for women with children is 70%. The average single mom earns $24,000 per year. She rushes from day care to work, from the market to the kitchen being mom, dad, nurse, playmate, sole provider. Though many women accomplish it, this burden is too great for any one person to bear.
Age and Income
The House Share program welcomes any mothers raising children alone whether because of divorce, circumstance, or due to the death of a partner.
The majority of those currently registered with CoAbode are between the ages of 25 and 49 (89%). We have not yet had the opportunity or resources to quantify the income levels of all of our participants, but based on a small random survey we estimate that over 70% earn less than 80% of the median income.
Ethnicity
Raising children alone is a challenge more likely to be faced by women of color. At present, almost two-thirds (65%) of all African-American family groups with children are made up of single moms. This is disproportionately higher than the figure for Hispanic family groups (35%) or Caucasian family groups (25%).
By offering all single moms a forum to connect with each other for house sharing and program access, CoAbode hopes to make a significant difference in the social and economic lives of families from all ethnic backgrounds.
Distressed and Abused women
CoAbode receives a high number of appeals from single mothers who are distressed or disabled. We are working to develop alliances with organizations which can assist us in helping participants make the transition to healthy independence through house sharing. Already, many non profit organizations have identified the CoAbode House Sharing program as the final step on the path to freedom for single moms emerging from troubled situations. In the very near future we
envision direct contracted interaction with shelter agencies, counseling services, and the family court system.
Making the Difference
With our unique house sharing service we have proven that two moms sharing a house together can achieve more than one struggling alone.
This has enabled single moms to afford a better house, within a safer school district. It helps divorced mothers hold on to the family home by having another single mother help cover expenses.
We empower single moms to escape abusive situations. Knowing that another single mother is there to provide financial and emotional support can make all the difference.
Allowing mothers to cut the cost of rent and overhead expenses in half frees up much needed resources. This alleviates the need to depend on government assistance for single moms with low paying jobs and no support.
Sharing the household burdens of cooking, grocery shopping, laundry, homework, car-pooling, and child supervision provides a profound amount of stress relief. This alleviates fatigue and depression, allowing healthier interaction with their children and the possibility of private time for themselves.
