Beth-El Center Surveys Milford, Woodbridge Homeowners on a Homesharing Pilot

MILFORD, CT — The Beth-El Center, which shelters and feeds people facing homelessness in Milford, is asking homeowners in Milford and Woodbridge how they view homesharing as it explores a pilot program in the two towns.

Homesharing pairs someone who has room to spare with someone who needs a place to live. The homeowner offers a private bedroom plus use of the common areas, and in return the person moving in pays an agreed rent, helps around the house, or some of each: rides to appointments, yard work, cooking or company, the center said in a September 30 announcement.

Snow removal and pet care can be part of the exchange as well, according to the survey. Personal care, such as bathing, dressing or medications, is not expected of the person moving in.

The center said the arrangement helps in both directions. Rent can ease a homeowner's property taxes and upkeep, and the room gives someone else a place they can afford.

A steering committee from both towns is supporting the center as it studies whether a program could work here. The survey is meant to show how homeowners see the idea and what would stand in the way of starting one. It is brief, open to homeowners in Milford and Woodbridge, and online at surveymonkey.com/r/Homesharing_survey.

More than 55 homesharing programs operate around the country, the center said, offering different levels of help along the way, from screening applicants and matching compatible people to written agreements and follow-up.

Affordable housing is scarce in both towns. On the state Department of Housing's 2023 count, 5.3 percent of Milford's homes and 1.2 percent of Woodbridge's qualified as affordable, against a state goal of 10 percent.

The Beth-El Center, at 90 New Haven Avenue, runs an emergency shelter, a community kitchen that serves two meals a day every day of the week, and outreach for people living without housing in 13 communities along the shoreline and in the lower Naugatuck Valley. Its shelter housed 61 individuals and 19 families in 2025, and the kitchen served more than 55,000 meals that year, according to the center. Its stated mission is "to extend dignity and respect to all individuals and families while connecting them to housing, food and support services."

Jennifer Paradis, the center's executive director, can answer questions about the program at JParadis@bethelmilford.org.

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