{"id":112092,"date":"2026-07-18T21:33:33","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T04:33:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=112092"},"modified":"2026-07-18T21:37:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T04:37:53","slug":"tam-house-helps-low-income-san-anselmo-seniors-afford-housing-through-shared-living","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/tam-house-helps-low-income-san-anselmo-seniors-afford-housing-through-shared-living\/","title":{"rendered":"Tam House helps low-income San Anselmo seniors afford housing through shared living"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The front yard of Tam House 1 in San Anselmo, Calif., on Thursday, June 25, 2026. Tam House is a non-profit cooperative living facility in downtown San Anselmo, California, that provides affordable, shared housing for independent seniors aged 62 and over. (Suellen Lamorte via Bay City News)<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

By WOODY WEINGARTEN, Bay City News<\/strong><\/p>\n

Affordability is shaping up to be the<\/em> buzzword for this year\u2019s midterm elections, and housing is the central issue.<\/p>\n

The solution to achieving widespread affordability is complex, certainly. But in upscale San Anselmo, Tam House<\/a> offers a seemingly simple answer \u2014 lodging 21 single seniors in private rooms and communal spaces in two homes.<\/p>\n

Low-income residents pay rents of only $1,130 (private bath) or $1,050 (bath shared with one other person).<\/p>\n

Tam House, a nonprofit linked to the Ross Valley Ecumenical Housing Association (RVEHA), apparently achieves the \u201chigh quality affordable housing\u201d that\u2019s always been its goal. Because of that, it regularly draws kudos from its residents.<\/p>\n

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A whiteboard lists chores and the residents responsible for them at Tam House 1 in San Anselmo, Calif., on Thursday, June 25, 2026. Tam House is a non-profit cooperative living facility in downtown San Anselmo, California, that provides affordable, shared housing for independent seniors aged 62 and over. (Suellen Lamorte via Bay City News)<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Peter Penhallow, a 72-year-old, has lived in Tam House 1 with 10 others for 3\u00bd years. His attitude is upbeat. \u201cI\u2019m lucky to have a roof over my head at a reasonable price in a familial community in the town that I grew up in,\u201d he reports.<\/p>\n

Suellen Lamorte can see Tam 1 from her nearby home. She, too, as might be expected of a five-year member of the board, is a cheerleader. \u201cI am honored to be a part of Tam House, which is unique and a good model that works so well it could be copied by communities all across the country. Seeing it just makes me happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tam House \u2014 which restricts itself to folks 63 or older willing to share chores such as washing dishes, sweeping floors, or light gardening \u2014 is subsidized by grants from a multitude of civic organizations.<\/p>\n

And tradespeople sometimes give discounts to known residents, \u201cbecause everyone seems to like the basic idea,\u201d says Lamorte.<\/p>\n

The facility is not<\/em> assisted living, however, which means \u2014 she says \u2014 \u201cthat residents have to take care of all their daily functions alone and are mobile.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hal Russek, house manager for both buildings, explains that \u201cgenerally, we are looking for people on fixed income, but whose funding is adequate so they can pay rent at this low rate.\u201d<\/p>\n

The maximum annual income for a working person is $65,000.<\/p>\n

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Tam House board member Suellen Lamorte attends a Hawaiian themed summer barbecue in San Anselmo, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. Tam House is a non-profit cooperative living facility in downtown San Anselmo, California, that provides affordable, shared housing for independent seniors aged 62 and over. (Suellen Lamorte via Bay City News)<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

No smoking is allowed but shared-living benefits include Comcast on flat-screen TVs in the two living rooms and access to wi-fi and a newspaper. Tam 1 has an upright piano.<\/p>\n

A few current residents have cars and drive, and a handful do work (one, for example, is a crossing guard, another is employed by a dog-grooming place).<\/p>\n

\u201cGenerally, people who come in are a few years short of or over 70,\u201d says Russek, who makes sure to point out that \u201cwe no longer require funds from local, state or federal subsidies. Tam House should be able to sustain itself for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

To be accepted, prospective residents need credit and criminal background checks; once in, each person is expected to get along with the others and be considerate. \u201cOne man was a dangerous hoarder whose place wasn\u2019t safe. He was asked to move,\u201d notes Lamorte, a retired teacher who has also volunteered for Marin Villages and Age and Disability Friendly San Anselmo.<\/p>\n

Although alcohol is permitted, \u201cinappropriate, intoxicated behavior is cause for termination,\u201d the Tam House website proclaims \u00ad\u2014 as are bullying, verbal threats, and violence, the last being a cause for action right on the spot.<\/p>\n

Rent includes five dinners a week, Monday through Friday, freshly cooked by affable Martin (pronounced Mar-teen) Michael. Although no special diets are accommodated, health-conscious menus vary considerably. Examples include eggplant parmesan with orzo and green salads; cashew chicken with jasmine rice; salmon with avocado, brown rice, and veggies; pasta with artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes; roast lamb; beef stew; and chicken enchiladas with rice and beans.<\/p>\n

Food, the Tam House Mission Statement says, is also \u201con hand for residents to prepare their own breakfasts.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Top: Michael Martin prepares dinner in Tam House 1 in San Anselmo, Calif., on Thursday, June 25, 2026. Bottom: (R-L) Residents Margy Tuckand Abby Risch during dinner at Tam House 1 in San Anselmo, Calif., on Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Suellen Lamorte via Bay City News)<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tam House has no wait list, \u201cbut if you would like to be informed when a place opens up, just send us your email [to tamanager@comcast.net] and we will let you know,\u201d says Lamorte, who had been San Anselmo\u2019s representative on the Marin County<\/a> Commission on Aging<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Physically, Lamorte adds, \u201cTam 1 is on Tamalpais Avenue, right downtown, and Tam 2 is on the corner of Woodland and Cedar, so each is within walking distance of the other as well as the library, parks, coffee shops, and restaurants.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tam 1 opened in 1982, Tam 2 in 2007. Both sit on quiet, tree-lined, residential streets.<\/p>\n

It took the four organizational founders \u2014 Ross Valley Rotary Club, First Presbyterian Church of San Anselmo, and St. Anselmo Catholic Church and St. John\u2019s Episcopal Church, both in Ross \u2014 several years of exploration and study before they could incorporate RVEHA in 1977.<\/p>\n

Lamorte notes that no ceiling exists on how long an individual can stay, so it\u2019s not surprising that the two Tam House buildings have become the site of \u201clots of friendships.\u201d<\/p>\n

No romances have been leaked to the press.<\/p>\n

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This article was first published on<\/strong>LocalNewsMatters.org<\/a><\/i><\/strong>, a nonprofit site supported by Bay City News Foundation http:\/\/www.baycitynews.org\/contact\/<\/a><\/i>. ‘<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Sherwood \u201cWoody\u201d Weingarten, a longtime voting member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theater Critics Circle, can be contacted by email at\u00a0voodee@sbcglobal.net<\/a> or on his websites, https:\/\/woodyweingarten.com<\/a>and\u00a0https:\/\/vitalitypress.com<\/a>. His books include <\/em>Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner\u2019s breast cancer<\/em>, aimed at <\/em>male caregivers;\u00a0MysteryDates \u2014 How to keep the sizzle in your relationship; The Roving I<\/em>, a compilation of 70 of his newspaper columns; and\u00a0Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates<\/em>, a whimsical fantasy intended for 6- to 10-year-olds that he co-authored with his then 8-year-old granddaughter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  The front yard of Tam House 1 in San Anselmo, Calif., on Thursday, June 25, 2026. Tam House is a non-profit cooperative living facility in downtown San Anselmo, California,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-112092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-woody-weingarten"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"