Why Steady Allies
Too many homes are carrying it alone.
Across the country, households are running on one set of hands. At the same time, plenty of capable, good-hearted people have time, skills, and care to give, and no simple, safe way to put them to use. Steady Allies exists to close that gap with clear, written household partnerships. Not dating, and not hired help. A fair partnership, both ways.
Families carrying it alone
Millions of households are raising kids with one adult doing the cooking, the fixing, the driving, and the worrying. Most of that load lands on moms.
U.S. families with children under 18 headed by a mother on her own in 2025.1
of one-parent family groups in 2022 were maintained by a mother.2
households in New Hampshire headed by a mother with no partner and children under 18 (2018 to 2022 estimates).3
such households in Massachusetts over the same period.3
People with room and time to give
On the other side of the gap are people with something to offer. Some are early in adult life and stuck, with rent out of reach. Others have raised their own families, live alone now, and miss being useful. They have skills, time, and steadiness, and nowhere obvious to bring them.
of all U.S. adults aged 25 to 34 lived in a parent's home in 2024.5
Among men aged 25 to 34, 19% lived in a parent's home in 2022, up from 11% in 1960. For women the same age, it was 12% in 2022.4
Americans 65 and over lived alone in 2023, including 5.7 million men, about 22% of older men.6
The mentoring gap
Kids do better with more than one steady, caring adult around. Research has found that kids in homes with fewer adults show bigger gaps in behavior and school discipline, and the mentoring programs built to help have long waiting lists.
In one study of fifth graders, the gap between boys and girls in acting-out behavior was nearly twice as large in homes run by a mother on her own as in two-parent homes. By eighth grade, the gap in school suspensions was close to 25 percentage points, compared with 10 points in two-parent homes.7
Loneliness on both sides
A parent who is the only adult in the house at night can feel just as alone as someone eating dinner by themselves across town. The U.S. Surgeon General has called loneliness a public health concern.
U.S. adults have experienced loneliness, according to the U.S. Surgeon General's 2023 advisory.10
A home that could use a hand, and a person who could use a place at the table. Steady Allies puts them together, on clear terms.
A fair trade that fills the gap
Steady Allies matches Keepers, the people who run a home, with vetted Anchors, who fix, clean, and pitch in around the house, and are a steady, positive presence. In return, Anchors get a room, home-cooked meals and company, or a mix. Everyone who passes vetting is welcome, and both sides choose each other by what they're looking for.
Many of us never got to see what a fair partnership at home looks like. Steady Allies is built around one: two people who each bring something, share the load fairly, agree on the terms in writing, and treat each other with respect. When kids are around, that is what they get to see.
Every match starts small and moves up only if both sides agree. ID and background checks, a public first meetup, a written house agreement, a trial period, and a no-fault exit at every step. Kids' wellbeing comes first.
Be part of the first steady matches.
Whether your home could use a hand or you have a hand to offer, we'd love to hear from you. Join the early-access list and we'll let you know when Steady Allies opens near you.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, via FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis), "Total One Parent Families with Children under 18 Years Old with Mother," 2025. fred.stlouisfed.org/series/OPFWCUMO
- U.S. Census Bureau, "Census Bureau Releases New Estimates on America's Families and Living Arrangements" (CB22-TPS.99), 2022. census.gov
- Badger Institute, "Single-parent households by state," 2024, from 2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2018 to 2022). badgerinstitute.org
- U.S. Census Bureau, "Living Arrangements Varied Across Age Groups," 2024. census.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau, "Nearly Two-Thirds of U.S. Households are Family Households," 2024. census.gov
- Administration for Community Living, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, "2023 Profile of Older Americans," 2024. acl.gov (PDF)
- Bertrand, M. and Pan, J., "The Trouble with Boys: Social Influences and the Gender Gap in Disruptive Behavior," National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper 17541, 2011. nber.org (PDF)
- Black Enterprise, "Big Brothers Big Sisters Wants To Close The Youth Mentorship Gap," 2023. blackenterprise.com
- The Chronicle of Evidence-Based Mentoring, "Inside the Male Mentor Shortage," 2025 (citing Big Brothers Big Sisters waitlist data from 2022). evidencebasedmentoring.org
- Office of the U.S. Surgeon General, "Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation," U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2023. hhs.gov (PDF)
These figures describe why the need exists. They don't describe who can join. Steady Allies is open to every adult who passes vetting, and matches are based on skills, schedules, and what each household is looking for.