About Us
Who is Smart Share Housing Solutions?
Our volunteer board members and four part-time staffers believe that safe, affordable housing is a human right, and that a thriving, inclusive community is impossible without access to attainable, sustainable housing.
- Smart Share Housing Solutions Board of Directors 2023 -
Marianne Kennedy
Past Chair
Ms. Kennedy has over 30 years of experience directing and working with community non-profit groups. Recognizing the need for affordable housing for vulnerable populations, she believes homesharing and small housing can be a part of the solution. As a senior senior, Ms Kennedy is experiencing the challenges San Luis Obispo seniors face, and plans her days to minimize driving and trips up and down the stairs, among other things
Erik Berg-Johansen
Board Member
Erik, a San Luis Obispo Realtor, is also a planner and has worked as a project manager for a Civil Engineering company where he focused on designing subdivisions and helping property owners acquire planning permits from local jurisdictions. Erik helped permit the Emerald Village tiny home project in Eugene, Oregon and brings his experience with planning, permitting and project management to Smart Share's Waterman Village development team.
Grace Crittenden, MD
Board Member
An internist in San Luis Obispo, Grace now focuses care for senior clients and sees isolation as a contributor to poor health outcomes. She believes homeshare can be a solution and that safe, secure, affordable housing is a key component for health. She brings her breath of knowledge and passion for holistic health to Smart Share.
Carl Meissner
Board Member
Carl is a San Luis Obispo electrical contractor, who enjoys assisting with local non-profit and community benefiting organizations, including the SLO Guild Hall and Food Co-op. Carl's interest in sustainability and housing and know-how when it comes to project development make for a natural fit on Smart Share's Waterman Village team.
Adam Clark
Board Member
Adam Clark is an international human rights and social justice advocate, working in Uganda on decriminalizing same-sex relations, marketing systems of equity for maternal health, and launching sensitization campaigns to reduce homelessness. Adam is also Kern County's public information officer, overseeing the integrity of the 2024 elections. When he is not working, he supports his conscious dance community near his home in Arroyo Grande and explores the sacred lands of SLO. Adam's diverse experience in digital marketing and communications will help strategically promote Smart Share's projects and garner the public and private support required to advance Smart Share's objectives.
- Smart Share Housing Solutions Staff 2023 -
Anne Wyatt
Executive Director
Anne is a planning consultant, specializing in affordable housing. She brings experience in non-profit housing, for profit housing and government policy. She is a simpleton who longs for simplicity, with housing and the rest of it, yet in general acknowledges that "it's complicated."
She has been a frequent contributor to the national magazine Planning and Vice Chair of the San Luis Obispo County Commission on Aging. She is a County Planning Commissioner and serves on several volunteer boards working to provide affordable housing and sustainable mobility options, including the CasitaCoalition.org, National Shared Housing Resource Center & Friends of the Bob Jones Trail. Her book, Downward Mobility: Revisiting Shelter, an exploration of less traveled housing options, is on Amazon. She has a master's in City & Regional Planning from CalPoly.
Rustin Fuss
Client Services Manager
Rustin has over 10 years of experience working in housing & property management. He joined the Smart Share team with a strong interest in social service, and his caring, empathetic passion for helping people provides capable, warm client support for the HomeShareSLO program. Rustin lives in an off grid tiny home, so he is an expert in alternative, sustainable living, and has a passion for mindfulness, wellness and sustainability.
Rustin is a mindfulness coach and an adept workshop and retreat facilitator. With a rich tapestry of experiences, he has traversed over 30 countries, immersing himself in diverse cultures and practices. His journey led him to reside in an Ashram in India for nearly a year, where he delved deep into the essence of mindfulness and meditation. His profound passion lies in imparting the transformative tools he has acquired, dedicated to empowering others in enhancing the quality of their lives.
Vicki van den Eikhof
Deputy Director
After earning her master's degree in sports medicine from the University of Oregon, Vicki and her husband eventually had four children. Her career took a side trip into the non-profit sector while she stayed home to care for her children. Leading teams of volunteers over the last 12 years, she started three non-profits and helped to raise about $500,000 for public school programs--primarily in the performing arts. Vicki passionately believes that every person on this earth is born to be creative. "It is imperative for our survival as well as our personal happiness, that we discover our creative outlets and learn to use them to make the world a better place." She is excited to bring her experience and creativity to Smart Share Housing Solutions, with the hope that her kids might be able to move into their own homes someday!
Mavis Wong
Operations Assistant
Mavis came to San Luis Obispo from the Silicon Valley, where she ran an industrial technology manufacturing firm. She landed with Smart Share indirectly, but she sees directly how homesharing works, as both Mavis' mother and her grandmother homeshare, providing income, security and ability to age in place. Mavis connects with her SLO community by delivering meals and supporting seniors with Meals that Connect and helping to plant community/school gardens to build community food systems, among other activities.
How We Got Here - History of Smart Share Housing Solutions
Recognizing that there are more housing solutions available than people commonly think, the non-profit Smart Share Housing Solutions started as HomeShareSLO in 2016 with the mission to help connect people and homes. HomeShareSLO was modeled after approximately 60 successful homesharing programs in the U.S. (More information about these programs at National Shared Housing Resource Center.)
Homesharing builds on community capacity and facilitates matches between "providers," people with an extra room, and "seekers," people seeking housing. Homesharing provides extra income and security for home providers, and it provides a safe, affordable house for persons in need of housing. Because the community is helped with provision of housing with little to no public subsidies or having to build new structures, it is a win-win-win.
With thanks to support from a dedicated board of volunteers, fiscal sponsorship support from Ecologistics, and funding from the City of Morro Bay, County of San Luis Obispo, Dignity Health and a handful of committed private donors, HomeShareSLO commenced operations, signing up the first home seekers and providers, in January 2017.
Two years after inception, Smart Share Housing Solutions achieved independent non-profit status, continuing to use the name HomeShareSLO.
In 2019, in addition to the initial HomeShareSLO program, Smart Share Housing Solutions added two new housing programs to support safe, affordable, sustainable housing in the County of San Luis Obispo: ADU SLO and the Co-Living Collaborative.
In 2020, a new Reduced Rent Task Exchange Homeshare option was added, along with Safer Share, a program to help homeowners add a separate living space to their homes, for rental income without sharing common space. [HomeShareSLO no longer offer this option.]
By the end of 2020, the HomeShareSLO program has signed up more than 300 home seekers and providers and matched together more than 130 clients in safe, affordable homes. These matches generate approximately $8,000 income per year for the mostly lower-income senior home providers, supporting their ability to provide for basic services, while saving the home seekers an average of $6,000 per year, as compared to renting a studio or one-bedroom apartment.
In June, 2022, Smart Share submitted a development application for Waterman Village to the City of San Luis Obispo as a partnership with the City and spent the remainder of 2023 shepherding the project through development review.
By the end of 2023, the approximately 100 homeshare matches facilitated through the HomeShareSLO program have brought direct financial benefit to providers in income rental and cost savings for seekers of about $2M since inception--an approximate six-fold return on investment--and growing!
The Smart Share Housing Solutions all volunteer board and staff look forward to continuing to work with you to provide housing solutions in the form of hope and safe homes for residents of San Luis Obispo County.
Smart Share Housing Solutions, a nonprofit 501(c)3 corporation, develops innovative housing solutions that add to the stock of attainable, sustainable housing, and to connect and empower our community. We are a 501(c)(3) public benefit non-profit corporation. Our Federal I.D. number is EIN# 82-3151265. Smart Share Housing Solutions is a member of the National Shared Housing Resource Center and currently operates three programs.
- HomeShareSLO--Facilitates matches between those with an extra room and those looking for affordable housing.
- ADU SLO--Assists property owners on the logistics of adding housing units using backyards, garages, infill lots and existing buildings.
- Co-Living Collaborative--Develops shared housing projects, including the Waterman Village, a neighborhood of 20 affordable small homes surrounding a historic adobe in downtown San Luis Obispo, now in development.
HomeShareSLO: Facilitates matches between home providers (people with an extra room) and home seekers (those looking for a home). It helps provide affordable housing with existing resources, allows for aging-in-place, builds community and empowers community members. See annual reports for number of clients matched and served.
ADU SLO - Works to educate and inspire people around options for smaller, simple living options that add to our affordable housing stock. New state rules allowing ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units) on most single-family residential lots create opportunity for homeowners to become part of the solution by building a new separate living space in their backyard, converting an existing garage to living space, or carving out a separate suite inside the home. Tiny Houses On Wheels (THOWs) in backyards, currently allowed only in SLO City and Arroyo Grande, are part of this mix of small, affordable-by-design dwellings. These spaces create family flexibility and can provide income through long term rental. ADU SLO is working with a regional ADU task force to educate the community and encourage production of these smaller homes in SLO County.
Co-Living Collaborative - Aims to expand housing options through development of affordable, eco-minded shared living created by converting existing commercial spaces such as older motels and bed and breakfast inns to co-living centers with a mix of shared and private spaces. The program has been evaluating potential projects since 2017. In addition to creating needed housing for lower income renters in SLO County, the goal is to create a model for such conversions that can be replicated in other communities. Our newest Co-Living Collaborative project is the Waterman Village, a neighborhood of 20 affordable small homes surrounding a historic adobe in downtown San Luis Obispo, now in development.
Non-Discrimination
Choosing your home share partner is up to you. We'll provide pre-screened applicants who match your preferences. HomeShareSLO abides by the Fair Housing laws and accepts all applicants, regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, the presence of minor children, receipt of public assistance or gender identity. It is your decision regarding who you want to live with.