HomeShare Woodstock is now HomeShareUlster County! Our newly opened Kingston program is now accepting applications from interested Home Providers and Home Seekers in our new Match Area- City of Kingston! Home sharing matches a Home Provider (person with extra room in their home or a separate living space) with a Home Seeker looking for an affordable rental (that usually includes a task exchange). HomeShare Ulster County currently serves the northern portion of Ulster County. The service will expand slowly as homes in other areas become available. We anticipate expanding again in 2027. The program currently has two main service areas:
- Woodstock: serving the towns of Woodstock, Saugerties, Olive, Shandaken, Hurley and Ulster (including the hamlets within these towns)
- Kingston: serving the City of Kingston
HomeShare Kingston and its pioneering sister, HomeShare Woodstock, are programs of Family of Woodstock. Applications for Kingston can be requested from:
Charlotte Smiseth, Assistant Program Director, HSUC
845.331.7080 ext. 162
homesharekingston@familyofwoodstockinc.org
For home sharing in the towns of Woodstock, Saugerties, Olive, Hurley, Ulster and Shandaken home seekers and home providers should contact:
Janice La Motta, Program Director, HSUC
845.679.2485
homesharewoodstock@familyofwoodstockinc.org
Information and applications will also be available at various organizations around the City.
HomeShare Kingston’s new Assistant Director, Charlotte Smiseth, joined the program in late January and is excited about opening up to receive applications. “We are getting our volunteer Match Team ready with the help of the Woodstock staff and volunteers. We will follow their lead, processing applicants into the program and slowly beginning to make solid matches. You need to have enough Providers and Seekers to find compatibility. That’s the key.”
All applicants are vetted in a thorough interview process conducted by trained HomeShare volunteers. This includes background checks, credit checks, and multiple reference verifications. Matches are based on preferences, common needs, and interests. Services are free of charge and the careful vetting and matching process provides security and ongoing support for all program participants.
HomeShare Woodstock currently has ten matches, helping twenty-four individuals. Our matches are helping seniors stay in their homes, providing on average ten hours a week of support including running errands, light housekeeping or gardening, driving and companionship. As one of our Home Providers describes, “I am delighted to have welcomed my new housemate into my home, as his contributions extend beyond mere assistance; he has become a genuine pleasure to be around. The Homeshare program has not only facilitated a mutually beneficial living arrangement but has also enriched my life with a compatible and amiable companion. Kudos to Family of Woodstock for orchestrating such a well-organized and supportive program.” – Wittenberg, NY
The expansion to the City of Kingston is supported, in whole or in part, by American Rescue Plan Act funding awarded to the City of Kingston by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Ulster County Community Grants Fund of the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley. The Woodstock area program is supported in part by the Town of Woodstock using American Rescue Plan Act funds awarded to the Town.
We look forward to making matches in the City of Kingston as soon as we have enough applicants! Help us spread the word!
