Several residences for seniors are preparing to welcome very specific tenants: students who will be housed and fed in exchange for a few hours of volunteer work per week.
• Read also: Here is the salary you need to earn to be properly housed in Greater Montreal
• Read also: In China, converted vans as a housing solution
• Read also: Finding housing for a few hundred dollars is a miracle for these people on social assistance
“It will create contacts and natural complicity, and that’s magic, both for residents and for students,” rejoices Benoît Létourneau, general manager of Résidence La Belle Époque, located in La Prairie, on the South Shore of Montreal.
His establishment is busy preparing the rooms that will house two students for at least a year in the residence where 65 seniors living with loss of autonomy live.
“We are in the process of developing the premises to make them a nice isolated corner,” explains Mr. Létourneau.
Photo Clara Loiseau
The two future tenants will be entitled to their own private furnished room, three meals a day, the washing of their clothes as well as free internet against 10 hours of volunteering per week with seniors, by signing a one-year contract with the residence which will be renewable.
A real success
This experience of intergenerational cohabitation, which aims to break the isolation of seniors, was born in 2018 at the Résidence des Marronniers, in Trois-Rivières, explains Jessica Lambert-Fandal, director of communications for the Libertia Group.
“It changed the lives of residents,” she says.
Jean-Pierre Richard, who lives in the establishment located in Mauricie, confirms this.
“These young people bring us youth! And when they’re not there, we just can’t wait for them to come back, ”says the 73-year-old man, adding that it is thanks to the two students that he has managed to integrate well into the residence.
For Florence Bilodeau, a 21-year-old biomechanics student, it’s like living with “her grandparents” for a year.
“We forge very strong bonds with people, we learn from each other. I know that for many, I really feel like their granddaughter,” says the young woman who is eager to return from vacation to find her older neighbors.
Same story for Corentin Bianquis, 19, who is on vacation in Europe.
“We give each other news by message and I can’t wait to find them, it’s really like a second family in fact,” he says, smiling.
Photo provided by Residence La Belle Époque
The opportunity presented itself when he was struggling to find a roof in Trois-Rivières.
“We’re not going to hide it, it’s also great for the financial side, especially in the current crisis, since we don’t pay rent, no meals and no internet,” says the chemistry student.
Selection
After the resounding success, both on the side of the residents and on the side of the young people, the group decided to export the project to its other residences, namely in La Prairie, but also at L’Épiphanie and Louiseville.
Candidates — who must be full-time students, Canadian and of legal age — will be analyzed to find those who will best match the residency.
Photo Clara Loiseau
“They will join the recreation team, but volunteering can also mean going around the floors to say hello to people, chat with them, eat with the residents… They can really get their hands dirty,” adds Mr. Létourneau, who hopes that this will encourage other young people to come and volunteer in his residence.