When Paul Anderson and Mike Marshall were looking at moving from Regina to Kelowna to attend UBC Okanagan, the cost of renting a place was somewhat daunting.
“It was looking pretty dire,” said Anderson.
However, the 25-year-old wound up hearing from a relative about a local seniors’ home that included university dorm rooms.
“I thought I liked the idea of like the intergenerational mingling,” said Anderson. “I’ve always gotten along with older people.”
The longtime friends were intrigued, despite the concept sounding a little weird, as Marshall described it.
“But having done it for the past three months, it’s bizarre that it’s not a more popular thing,” Marshall said. “It feels like a blessing; it’s wild.”
When The Vineyards Residence long-term care facility in Glenmore was built during the pandemic, the design plans included some dorm housing.
“This is something that’s done in Europe,” said Jenelle Hynes, community relations and marketing manager with The Vineyards Residence. “I don’t know of anybody else that is doing this.”
The dorms can accommodate up to four students in the five-storey facility.
“We have 134 units for our residents and then we have four dorms on the lower level,” Hynes said.
The model has the students paying a significantly reduced rent of $500 a month in exchange for a minimum of 10 hours of volunteer work.
“It’s a dream come true for Paul and myself,” said Marshall, who’s also 25.
“It facilitates us going to school and lets us invest in our futures, while also giving back, which is perfect.”
The two volunteer in the facility’s recreational program.
“Bowling, baking … we made little pumpkin pies a while ago. We did sugar cookies,” Marshall said. “There’s magnetic darts. We do a bunch of fun stuff.”
They also help support residents and staff in many other ways.
“They’re doing one-on-ones, it’s maybe they take them for walks or they’re looking through a photo album,” Hynes said.
“One of my favourite things that I always love to assign students to is a new resident in town, or one that’s moved into the building. Go and see them and find out what their favourite TV shows are, what channels that the show is on, and then they can set it up and put it on a piece of paper.”
The duo even started a bi-monthly men’s club.
‘We take a small group of the men and we just like, “OK, like where are you from? What did you do up until coming here? What were your careers? What was your family life like?’ And just (learn their history) through a conversation,” Marshall said.
In addition to volunteering, the arrangement is also leading to employment opportunities for the student.
“They’re able to fill in, help in with housekeeping, help in the kitchen,” Hynes said.
“It’s great because they both have backgrounds in the kitchen as well, so that’s been phenomenal.”
While there is room for up to four students, Marshall and Anderson are the only ones currently living in the home as the facility puts the unique model to the test.
“These guys don’t replace our staff in any way. They help support our staff, so this is great for them, it’s also great for us,” Hynes said.
“I think they feel like they’ve won the lottery, but we also do, too.”
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