'Like we're roommates': How a 79-year-old found company and a little extra help by letting a student move in
CBC
Dorothy Rusoff, 79, has been relying on video calls to stay in touch with her friends during the pandemic — but sometimes still finds herself stumped by her laptop.
Luckily, her new roommate, 23-year-old Maggie Meier, is now there to help her.
"She's a genius!" said Rusoff with a laugh.
"I think it's going well. I think we've resolved the grievances with technology so far," added Meier, a student at Ryerson University.
The two found each other thanks to a program called Canada Homeshare, which pairs older adults who have extra space in their homes with students in need of affordable rent.
In the years since it launched as a pilot project in Toronto in 2018, the program has expanded to Vancouver, Peel Region and Kingston, with more Ontario locations, such as Barrie, Oshawa, and Peterborough, in the works.
"The response is overwhelming," said Dr. Raza Mirza, the network manager for the National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly, which created the program. "It highlights for us that there really is an unmet need in our community."
Mirza says the idea is about more than giving students a financial break or providing a new source of income for seniors.
"We are moving towards really addressing isolation and loneliness through this program," he said.
Rochelle McAlister manages mental health and addictions programs for seniors at WoodGreen Community Services in Toronto.
McAlister, who is not affiliated with Canada HomeShare, said that in her experience seniors "desperately" want to stay in their own space, but sometimes lack the support to do so.
"We know that seniors constantly face isolation challenges and particularly in the pandemic, it's become quite disastrous," said McAlister.
"We have a huge goal of keeping people living independently in their homes for as long as possible," she said, explaining that Canada HomeShare and other programs like it can help.
That was the situation Rusoff found herself in.
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