How widespread is isolation in later life?
In France, the 2025 barometer by the charity Petits Frères des Pauvres estimates that 750,000 people aged 60 or over have no social contact whatsoever, a condition the charity calls social death, and that 2 million are cut off from family and friends.
Feelings run deeper than the headcount. According to the same survey, 2.5 million older people feel lonely every day or nearly every day, 5.7 million have nobody to confide in and 9 million do not leave their home on a daily basis.
Isolation is not the same as loneliness
Isolation is counted in contacts: visits, calls, outings. Loneliness is felt, sometimes even in company. A housemate mainly improves the first measure by multiplying ordinary exchanges in the kitchen or hallway, and may soften the second once a genuine rapport develops.
The digital gap compounds the problem
Five million older people in France never go online, which is 27 percent of the over-60s according to the barometer. A student at home often ends up, almost by accident, setting up a video call with grandchildren or booking a doctor’s appointment online.
What the French contract allows
The French homesharing contract introduced in 2018 permits small services such as evening company without turning them into a caregiving duty. Safety at home therefore has to rest on several layers of support rather than on one young person alone.
What a live-in presence changes
In Ireland, THE HomeShare asks sharers for a minimum of ten hours of support each week and overnight presence for reassurance and emergencies. French support-based arrangements usually specify a handful of agreed evenings instead, leaving weekends and holidays more flexible for students.
In the United Kingdom, Shared Lives Plus reports reduced isolation, better wellbeing and a lower risk of falls among the outcomes linked to homeshare. These findings are reported benefits rather than clinical proof, and they cannot replace an individual health assessment.
Night-time, the hours families fear most
Many adult children worry most about the small hours: a trip to the bathroom, a dizzy spell, a door left unlocked. Knowing that someone sleeps in the next room often calms the older person more than any gadget fixed to the wall.
Where informal presence stops
Students leave for placements, go home in the holidays and sometimes stay over with friends. They are not trained in safe lifting, advanced first aid or monitoring medication. Relatives should hear these limits plainly before treating the arrangement as a safety plan.
Comparing the layers of support
No single measure covers every risk. Setting each option side by side shows what it contributes and where its blind spots lie, which helps families combine them sensibly according to the person’s mobility, health and daily habits.
| Option | What it offers | What it misses |
|---|---|---|
| Younger housemate | Evening company, conversation, small favours | Absent at weekends and holidays, no personal care |
| Personal alarm | Round-the-clock alert via button or sensor | No companionship, only works if worn |
| Home care workers | Washing, meals and cleaning by professionals | Short visits, rarely overnight |
| Befriending volunteers | Regular social contact and listening | Limited frequency, not for emergencies |
| Group activities | Outings, prevention workshops, new acquaintances | Require the ability to travel |
Personal alarms as the technical safety net
A pendant or wristband linked to a monitoring centre lets the wearer raise the alarm at any hour. An operator calls back, then contacts a relative or emergency services. Some devices also detect falls automatically when the wearer cannot press the button.
On costs, French households can treat a monitoring subscription as a personal service, which opens a tax advantage worth 50 percent of spending up to an annual ceiling, according to a guide updated in February 2024. Monthly prices depend on the provider.
Should the housemate be an alarm contact?
Adding the sharer to the list of people the monitoring centre calls can speed up a night-time response. This requires their explicit consent, and other contacts must remain because they may be away. A short written note avoids confusion about their role.
Six steps to a safer home
A few simple checks before the sharer arrives make life calmer for everyone. Relatives, the matching organisation or an occupational therapist can help, particularly when the householder’s mobility is already reduced or a fall has occurred in the past year.
- Clear the route between bedroom, bathroom and toilet.
- Fit plug-in night lights along that route.
- Post emergency numbers and current medication near the phone.
- Leave a spare key with a neighbour or relative.
- Test the personal alarm with the sharer present.
- Agree a simple signal when either person will be away for several days.
What if the sharer finds the host on the floor?
They should not try to lift someone who is in pain. In France the right reflex is to dial 15 or 112, keep the person warm, stay with them and then inform the family. Explaining this in the first week helps.
Traps that weaken safety
Families new to homesharing tend to make the same errors. Most come from overestimating what an untrained young adult can guarantee, or from leaving the organisation around them so vague that nobody knows who is responsible for what.
- Cancelling the personal alarm as soon as the sharer moves in.
- Describing the student to relatives as a night carer.
- Forgetting to plan for university holidays.
- Not telling the family doctor about the new arrangement.
- Asking the sharer to manage medication or medical appointments.
Spread vigilance across several people
The strongest protection is a network: a neighbour with a key, a relative who phones daily, a care worker in the morning and a housemate in the evening. Each knows what the others do and who to call first.
Befriending charities and group activities
In 2025 Petits Frères des Pauvres relied on roughly 15,000 volunteers, supported 26,000 older people and answered more than 12,000 calls on its listening line. In 2024 France’s national pension fund involved 170,242 retirees in group prevention activities.
Questions families raise
Adult children of an older host tend to ask the same few things once a young person moves in. Their concerns revolve around responsibility, how the sharer fits alongside existing equipment, and how many evenings it is fair to expect from a student.
Is a housemate enough to reassure distant relatives?
It helps, but it is not enough on its own. Families keep up regular calls, stay in touch with the organisation and often maintain an alarm. The sharer may pass on occasional news, provided the host agrees and it never becomes surveillance.
Is the student liable if the host falls?
They have no duty of medical supervision. Like any citizen, they must call for help when someone is in danger. Their position cannot be compared with that of a nurse, a care agency or a paid live-in carer.
Should the personal alarm stay?
In nearly every case, yes. The sharer is away at weekends, during exams and over the holidays, and may not hear anything at night. The device covers those gaps, while human presence provides what no device ever will.
How many evenings is it fair to ask for?
No national rule exists. The number of evenings is negotiated with the organisation according to the model chosen and the contribution paid. A modest commitment that holds is worth more than a daily promise that fades by the second term.
Useful organisations and resources
- Petits Frères des Pauvres – 2025 annual report — French charity founded in 1946 offering befriending visits, a listening line and long-term support to isolated older people.
- Shared Lives Plus Homeshare (UK) — Research profile of the UK network that developed homeshare, with reported outcomes on isolation, wellbeing and falls.
- THE HomeShare (Ireland) — Irish not-for-profit matching householders with sharers who provide weekly support and overnight reassurance.
Official and legal references
- French Construction and Housing Code – intergenerational homesharing — Official French provision governing the homesharing contract and the small services a sharer may agree to provide.
- L’Assurance retraite – tackling isolation among older people — Official page of France’s national pension fund presenting isolation figures and its prevention programmes for retirees.