What’s involved in opening your home to out-of-town boarders? Seasoned host families talk about the pros and cons, plus practical pointers,
MAKING SPACE FOR OTHERS “I’ve learned a lot about people” says Aviva whose family has hosted boarders for many years. “I also think my children benefitted from seeing the other kids. It increased their hakaras hatov for their own ‘normal’ family as they realized that not all homes function so well. They learned to get along and make space for others”
B aila originally sought boarders to help pay off the mortgage on her Jerusalem home. She envisioned these high school girls becoming part of her family in the rose-colored happily-ever-after scenario she’d heard and read about.
It didn’t quite work out that way. “They didn’t really want an adopted family! They just needed a warm home a friendly place to stay” she says. “My own high-school daughter did enjoy the company and become friendly with our boarders though which was nice.”
Though boarding does bring in an income seasoned host families urge people not to view it as simply a business agreement. “If you’re hosting purely to ease financial burdens in your home you won’t have a positive experience” says Chaia Frishman who had two young-adult boarders staying in her home at different times. “The payment is a perk yet having a boarder is doing chesed for someone who needs a place to live. No one can live in a hotel — so go in with the attitude that you’re doing chesed providing another person with what they need.”
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