New York University (NYU) has been making attempts to bring students and senior citizens together in attempt to better both of their lives.
Students at NYU, and many other colleges, struggle to pay for housing while in college. At NYU specifically, tuition and housing can reach over 60,000 dollars a year.
With New York City bring incredibly expensive for all residents, it is even more of a struggle for students to live there successfully.
In an attempt to save their students money, NYU recently created a program called “home stay” which will allow students to live in the spare bedrooms of senior citizens that live around the campus.
The New York Post reported that this program could save students up to 14,000 dollars each year. The seniors that volunteered their homes would get compensation for agreeing to be part of the program. NYU is joining forces with a nonprofit that provides social services to low-income seniors in order to make this happen. The seniors that would participate in this program struggle financially but have homes with empty rooms.
Participating in the program would allow seniors to get funds and students to get housing.
The program is going to be tested in the fall, on a smaller scale first, to see how it might work. The program is going to consist of 10 students ranging from their junior year up to graduate school students.
Other universities, including several colleges in Chicago ran a program similar to this one and found great success in it.
That program provided free bedrooms within a senior living community and the students did light chores in return for the housing, from grocery shopping to teaching computer courses.
Many students at NYU are standing behind this program and think it could be a huge benefit to both parties. Other students have expressed that they don’t feel this program alone is enough to help students that desperately need assistance with housing costs, but only time will tell.
For more senior citizen news, visit BEK Medical’s blog.
