Here's why some Dutch university students are living in nursing homes
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Johanna Harris, University of Exeter
In today’s society both young and old increasingly find themselves living in a bubble of like-minded and similar-aged peers. This is especially true of university students who leave home at 18 to live with people of the same age – who have quite often had similar life experiences.
Given this, the report that a Dutch nursing home has established a programme providing free rent to university students in exchange for 30 hours a month of their time “acting as neighbours” with their aged residents is unusual.
The programme has seen students in their early twenties sharing lives with residents in their eighties and nineties. As part of their volunteer agreement, the students also spend time teaching residents new skills – like how to email, use social media, Skype, and even graffiti art.
Reducing loneliness
The incentive behind Humanitas Deventer’s “exchange” programme is the research base that shows that reducing loneliness and social isolation impro...
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