Calgary pilot project brings students and seniors together

On Tuesday morning, two post-secondary students met their new roommates for the fall semester.

But their dorm rooms will be different from others in Calgary.

Shannon Penner, a student at Mount Royal University, and Maryam Shakir, a student at Bow Valley College, will live in a senior living facility next school year.

After living in university housing for the past year, Penner is looking forward to a quieter lifestyle.

“The nice thing about it is that there's a chef, so I don't have to cook, which is amazing for me because as a student, I'm busy and that's one of the things I struggle with,” Penner said.

“So it's a great opportunity for me to pay my rent because I can afford it, and I also look after food because I can afford it.”

This means the launch of a unique pilot project that brings together several generations under one roof.

Students selected through a partnership between Silvera for Seniors and the Canadian Alliance for Intergenerational Living live at Westview Town Suites.

The eight-month program, which runs from September 2024 to April 2025, aims to address student housing affordability while enriching the lives of seniors.

Students pay $500 per month.

For this, they receive a one-room suite, prepared meals and all utilities.

In exchange for subsidized rent, students contribute 30 hours per month of volunteer work at the facility, which may include helping out at events, chaperoning, or simply offering to listen.

Shakir, originally from Iraq, says he has missed the intergenerational interaction since moving to Canada in 2017.

“In our culture, they teach us when we're little to take care of the elderly. My grandparents, we have to go to them every Friday. We respect them a lot. It's like we hold them sacred, I would say, because they're like the greatest figures in the family,” he said. Shakir.

“I'm a Canadian citizen, but I come from another country, and other people here come from different countries. I love this variety.

“I'm really a person who loves culture, music. I love learning and new foods. So I share my food with them (and maybe they share their food with me. Maybe we cook something together). We love. Maybe we dance together. we will take.

Olivia Chubey, chief services and operations officer for Silvera for Seniors, said the program not only offers students discounted rent, but Silvera also benefits because it fills vacancies.

“We're in the senior housing business. So we have to make sure our residents have access to affordable housing and lifestyle programs. That's my number one priority,” Chubey said.

“But how do I bridge some of the gaps in different generations? We'll explore that. We'll see how that model works.”

Calgary's pilot project is the latest example of a movement toward intergenerational living.

While similar student housing arrangements have been used in Canada before, Chubey says this is the first time the program has been created with the goal of becoming a permanent program.

“I hope that in the future we can use this as much as possible,” Chubey said.

“I think it's very important that this model is approved by the government, especially when you look at different ministries, for example the Ministry of Education. We need federal grants, which are secured, but corporate sponsorships are possible.

“People can contribute to this model in the future.”