Amparo Azcutia: Shared Homes against unwanted loneliness
Amparo Azcutia and José Prieto talk to us about Hogares Compartidos, the shared housing project for people over 60 that combats unwanted loneliness in Valencia
We are recording chapter 6 of Gente Real live in Valencia, and we open «La Portería» to two voices who speak to us about what a home truly means when it is shared.
After so much talking about future, data and algorithms, in this special chapter recorded live in Valencia we wanted to open the door to our most human section in a different way. In «La Portería» we usually ask a well-known face what the word home means to them. Today, however, the porter's lodge is opened by two people who know that meaning from a much deeper place: the transcendence of building a home when there is no one left to share it with.
Christmas was approaching when we recorded this episode, one of those times of year when the home becomes a family meeting point. But it is not always like that for everyone. Unwanted loneliness is, as was said live on stage, the silent pandemic of our century. That is why we invited Amparo Azcutia, co-founder of Hogares Compartidos, a Valencian organisation that has spent twelve years turning houses into families, and José Prieto, one of its residents, who knows very well what it is like to transform a stranger into a lifelong companion.
What is a shared home?
Amparo explains it bluntly: they are people over 60 who, without a home of their own or savings, are forced to share a roof. Many arrive after a comfortable life cut short by a separation or a bad business deal; others have dragged themselves through a situation of social exclusion since childhood. Nobody arrives looking for others, but they all end up satisfied.
«The lovely thing is that amongst themselves they establish healthy, affectionate and collaborative living groups»
And there is something almost miraculous about the model: they keep finding owners willing to hand over their homes in exchange for a lower financial return, but with the certainty of contributing to the common good. Today they manage 16 homes and provide a roof for 60 people in Valencia, although the demand is enormous: an average of 560 people over 60 ask them for decent accommodation every year.
How do such different people fit under one roof?
The process, Amparo says, is «something as subtle as a feeling». When a room becomes available in one of the flats — there are two-, three-, four- and even five-person ones — the seniors themselves choose, among the candidates, who they want to live with.
It makes sense: they are the ones who are going to share every hour of the day, 365 days a year. Beyond a roof over their heads, the organisation offers a sense of belonging, an active life and companionship volunteering. As Amparo summarises, «when we talk about housing we always focus on square metres and transactions, but in the end we are talking about family and human warmth.
How can estate agents collaborate?
Amparo launches a clear appeal to the sector: collaborate, contributing the grain of sand that some colleagues are already adding, on a personal or agency level. But there is also a more subtle role that only real estate professionals can play: supporting those people who inherit a home from deceased parents and feel afraid of renting it out or sad about selling it. Offering them the possibility for that home to continue a legacy, or be used for a noble project, can be the perfect gateway to Shared Homes.
It was then José's turn for the goal test, those relaxed questions with which we usually discover how our guests inhabit the world.
Interview with José Prieto:
When we say the word house, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
Home.
What smell or sound makes you feel instantly at home?
The morning coffee.
What is your non-negotiable factor when choosing a place to live?
Having privacy. A place that's your very own, that's your place.
What has your experience been like with estate agents?
He never had any, says José. He inherited a flat from his parents, sold it, and after the 2007 crisis he lost everything: his business, his home, his family. Until he arrived at Hogares Compartidos, with Amparo. Ten years later, he feels at home again.
A great plan at home always includes...
A good meal, the TV on and, of course, the after-lunch nap.
How do you imagine the home of the future?
Completely glass-walled, self-cleaning, and operated at the touch of a single button. Mopping the floor, José says with a laugh, now feels like «an activity from a thousand centuries ago».
Favourite colour, book, film and song.
This interview reminds us that a home is not measured in square metres, but in the people with whom you share your morning coffee. José lost everything and had it all back the day he found, alongside Amparo and Shared Homes, a place to call home. And always, with dignity first.
