Age UK Hillingdon, Harrow and Brent (HHB) has partnered with social enterprise Two Generations to extend its home share service.

Age UK HHB launched Homeshare in 2019 to reduce isolation for people living alone, reducing the risk of an older person needing to go into a care home, and encouraging relationships between older and younger generations.

The partnership with Two Generations will allow Age UK HHB to increase the capacity of the service, reaching more people. Two Generations uses technology to match older people looking for help or companionship at home with a younger person who can lend a hand and needs affordable accommodation.

The Homeshare service checks, screens and matches an older householder with a younger sharer, who commits to giving the householder up to 10 hours of their time each week. This may include cooking or light housework, help with computers and technology, shopping or gardening, spending time together over a meal or cup of tea and occasional trips out. A Homeshare match does not involve any personal care.

Two Generations co-founder Natasha Langleben said: “Two Generations has the capacity and expertise to scale up at pace which means we are able to support large numbers of householders across Hillingdon, Harrow and Brent.” 

She added: “We’ve worked with a very large range of householders, from those who are older and independent and just want some companionship, to those with early onset dementia, Parkinson’s and mental health concerns. We’ve worked to complement existing care packages and supported younger householders with challenges such as brain injuries. We hope that this expertise lends itself perfectly to scale up the existing service that Age UK has managed for the past years.”

Age UK HHB chief executive Julian Lloyd said: “We wanted to ensure we had the resources necessary to grow our homeshare service so that we could offer it, as one of a number of tools to help combat loneliness and provide key support at home. “

He added: “Two Generations are the perfect partner to deliver this service. They encapsulate the same values and warmth towards all their clients and are set up to support far larger numbers. We are really excited at being able to offer such an important service across the boroughs.”