In 2014, Bonnie Moore, a retired lawyer, founded the Golden Girls Network, a national roommate matching network for “single mature women and men” wishing to form shared-living senior communities. For $39, seniors could sign up for six months of unlimited searching on the site, which matched homeowners with those seeking homes (and included background checks). Ms. Moore later published a guide for those interested in starting their own “Golden Girls home.”

In 2017, the Cohousing Association of the United States founded a new initiative, Aging in Cohousing, which aids those wishing to form or join a cohousing community and provides information to those considering cohousing.

Another model is multigenerational cohousing, in which apartments or other multiunit buildings mix older residents with younger people. The younger people may be able to assist the older ones in times of need, and both generations have the chance to enjoy the companionship provided by living communally. There are preschools located in nursing homes and artists-in-residence programs in which younger artists receive housing in retirement communities in exchange for sharing their talents with residents.