Hal Hunter is at it again.

He has this thing about trying to make people’s lives a little better. Back in 2009, he was the driving force behind the launch of the Rappahannock Food Pantry and its Backpack Program that sends food home with elementary school kids on weekends. Same with the rollout of Rapp at Home six years later, with its mission of helping seniors in the community stay in their homes.

Rapp at Home Executive Director Patty Hardee called Hunter a “visionary” for his foundational contributions to several successful endeavors. “He does identify needs and then try to find a way to meet them. I think he’s been really important to the county,” she said.

Now, the 87-year-old Hunter has another idea. He’s calling it Rapp HomeShares, and its goal is pretty straightforward: Matching up people looking for affordable housing with folks willing to share their home in exchange for a little rent and some help around the house.

It’s a model that Hunter freely admits he’s copying from a program called HomeShare Vermont that’s been operating for 40 years. Most often, older women who have extra room in their homes are matched with younger women, who in exchange for rent or reduced rent, provide a range of services, such as making meals, housekeeping and some non-medical personal care. Each match has its own arrangements, based on the needs and abilities of the housemates.

Hunter thinks a local version of the program could help address what he sees as two challenges facing some in the county: Finding affordable housing, and the struggle of aging residents with the demands of living alone.

Both Hardee and Rappahannock Benevolent Fund Executive Director Berni Olson, who suggested bringing home sharing to the county years ago, agree there is great demand across Rappahannock for more affordable and available housing for residents both young and older. “We frequently get calls from people saying that they’re looking for a place to live and have a limited budget, or they’re living in a motel in Front Royal,” Hardee said.

“We know lots of people are looking for places to live,” Hunter said. “The harder part is finding people willing to open up their homes. When I tell people about this, the response I usually get is, ‘What a great idea!’ Then ‘Not in my house.’

“The biggest challenge is that it all comes down to trust.”

Good housemates

To ease people’s minds, Hunter said he will check references and backgrounds, introduce potential housemates, coordinate written agreements and oversee a two-week trial of living together.

“You know, someone may have the beginning of some health issues and think that they may need some help,” he said. “But then there’s the question of how much they should depend on this other person to take care of them.

“And the relationship can change over time. You need a warm personal relationship to work through that,” Hunter added. “That’s why somebody like me has to keep checking in.”

He admits that this could be the hardest of his plans to bring to fruition. “It’s going to be a tough slog,” he said, “and it may take a long time to really get it going.”

If and when Rapp HomeShares catches on, Hunter sees himself bowing out, which is what he usually does with his ideas. He plants seeds, then moves on.

Should Hunter’s idea get successfully launched, Hardee suggested that Rapp at Home could bring it under its umbrella in the future. The nonprofit is no stranger to home sharing. Years ago, its board developed guidelines for a similar program that has since been placed on the back-burner.

“[Home sharing] really will take a community effort to do, and so we would be part of that community effort. And if anybody can pull together a community effort, I think it’s Hal,” she said.

“The right thing to do”

Hunter’s roots in Rappahannock go back to 1968, when he and his late wife, Beverly, first bought property in Amissville. They ended up moving to the county and raising their kids here. In time, they became more and more involved in volunteer programs, particularly those devoted to protecting the local environment, and in 2009, the couple was named Rappahannock News Citizens of the Year.

Beverly Hunter died in 2017, but Hal hasn’t geared down his efforts to ease the challenges of daily life for others. He’s been described by Darcy Canton, director of Rappahannock’s Senior Center, as a “bulldog” when it comes to following through on his altruistic ideas.

That’s necessary because as often as not, Hunter’s plans end up following a circuitous path. His approach is to keep moving forward, even if it’s in a somewhat different direction.

A case in point: He thought he might have already arranged  two matches, but neither has worked out yet. One of the women with whom he spoke has physical disabilities that may require a higher level of assistance. Hunter said he’s trying to find help for her.

Despite the successful track record – the Food Pantry was notably cited as a safe and civil gathering place for all in the series of not-for-attribution “This Place” interviews with nearly five dozen residents conducted by the Rappahannock News and Foothills Forum – Hunter’s mission is rife with potential frustrations. So why does he continue to take on these projects?

Hal Hunter (Photo/Luke Christopher)

“It seems like the right thing to do,” Hunter said. “And I like doing it. There’s probably a clinical reason having to do with wanting social approval. I’m not sure. But I do enjoy getting my dopamine hits.”

He acknowledges that his type of volunteerism can be seen by some as intrusive, that it reflects a nonprofit activism that can come across as patronizing, and even judgmental.

“I guess that comes with the territory,” he said. “But this doesn’t make me any smarter, or a voice that needs to be listened to more than anyone else.”

Breaking bread

When asked how he would respond to someone who questions the role of local nonprofits, Hunter says simply, “I’d invite them to lunch. And talk about what these nonprofits do. I’d start with the Food Pantry.”

He’s a big believer in the practice of breaking bread – literally – with people whose opinions differ from his own. Sharing a meal, he said, can help smooth jagged edges.

That thinking led to a recent open invitation Hunter extended on RappNet, the local online discussion group where exchanges can get particularly contentious and nasty. He suggested a potluck dinner gathering at the county park recently.

The turnout was small – four people, plus Hunter. But the conversation, he said, was amiable and lasted a few hours. Plans for another potluck in the park are in the works.

He noted that none of the more aggressive RappNet commenters attended last week’s get-together. But he remains hopeful.

“I’m just trying to figure out ways to encourage people to talk to each other,” he said. “And this is a step in that direction.”

Another idea Hunter is pursuing is to help facilitate more neighborhood potlucks that give people a chance to get to know better folks who live nearby, but come from different backgrounds.

That ties into another of his personal missions.

“I try to talk to a stranger every day.”

Bud Meyer contributed reporting.

For more information on Rapp HomeShares, contact Hunter at [email protected]

Toward civility

What does Hal Hunter, Rappahannock’s serial community innovator, see as steps to rebuilding civility in Rappahannock County?

• Talk to strangers. Hal cites “lots of social, emotional, and physical benefits, e.g., longer life.”

• Suggest a meal or a meeting with someone who thinks differently from you.

• Start small.

• Be persistent. If at first you don’t succeed . . .

• Plagiarize. The models for the Food Pantry, Rapp at Home, and other nonprofits didn’t originate here.

This article is part of “This Place,” a series of occasional stories exploring what divides us – and unites us – in Rappahannock County. It also highlights those who work around discord to find solutions to community challenges.

“This Place” is grounded in months of research by a team of Rappahannock News reporters and Foothills Forum volunteers who conducted not-for-attribution interviews with nearly five dozen county residents to discuss the rise of conflict and the decline of civility. Those interviewed included a range of ages, races, education levels, political leanings, socioeconomic standing and length of time living in the county. You can read the initial “This Place” installment at rappnews.com/this place.

Almost all said they believe there has been an increase in divisiveness and conflict in recent years, similar to what has occurred in many other communities. The interviews, some hours in length, probed what’s behind it, as well as ways in which we come together.

‘People are complicated’:
While tough to organize, home sharing can transform lives

Unlike other programs to help residents find housing, home sharing is about people — and their living preferences are often complex. That makes the model especially difficult to execute on, according to HomeShare Vermont Executive Director Kirby Dunn.

“[It’s] about people living together under the same roof, sharing the same kitchen and having to sort of figure out a lot of things,” Dunn said in an interview. “As human beings, that can be a very tough thing to do. We can’t do it with the people we love very well — and then you think about doing it with a stranger, person of a different generation, person of a different culture — whatever it is, it’s just complicated. People are complicated.”

But just because it’s hard, doesn’t mean it can’t be done. HomeShare Vermont has served its region for 40 years, while newer and more modern programs have emerged like Nesterly, an online agency that helps young people find older roommates to supplement each other’s income to afford rent. Representatives with Nesterly could not be reached for comment.

When the stars align, home sharing has proven to be a life changing living arrangement for most who participate in northwest and central Vermont, according to Dunn. Annual surveys among HomeShare Vermont participants found that an overwhelming majority felt happier and safer with a compatible housemate. Most also said they slept better each night, Dunn said.

The key to success, according to Dunn, is an involved intermediary working to become closely acquainted with the individuals seeking to share a home so they can be placed alongside a match who they’re less likely to clash with.

It could take years for a great match to be made since several living preferences must be taken into account when trying to place a successful pair of homeseekers. Do they tolerate pets? Do they drink? Smoke? What’s their lifestyle like? Are they willing to live with the opposite sex? Answering each of those essential questions quickly narrows the pool of potential matches for those seeking a housemate.

Dunn said it’s much easier to find matches with a large pool of candidates, which could complicate things for Hal Hunter in rural Rappahannock County where the population is fewer than 8,000 residents.

It’s also tough to find volunteers willing to share their home with strangers. The intermediary must convince both parties in an agreement to feel a sense of safety and security throughout the process, she said.

Even if successful, home sharing arrangements are often only temporary. “We tell people at the beginning of a match that every match is going to end because one person or the other will have different needs over a period of time and decide to move on,” Dunn said.

For a start-up similar to what Hunter proposed, just a few home sharing success stories — ones where each person’s needs are met for their desired amount of time — could prove invaluable for good word of mouth across the community, she said.