New app matches students who need housing with seniors who have room to spare

Newfoundland and Labrador's post-secondary institutions have teamed up with an organization that can find housing for students, while helping to curb loneliness of seniors with room to spare. 

SpacesShared, an online platform that helps pair seniors with empty rooms in their homes with students, has recently been launched in Newfoundland and Labrador. CEO Rylan Kinnon says the app uses an algorithm to match compatible students with older hosts interested in home sharing.

"These are longer-term living relationships. We verify the host identity and their address. We verify the student's identity and that they are in fact enrolled at a post secondary institution," he said. 

"Once they've actually connected through the platform, we support them. We check in with them a week after the student moves in and every month and if we identify any issues through that survey, we follow up with a phone call."

Students of Memorial University, College of the North Atlantic, Keyin College and Academy Canada have long had trouble finding safe, affordable places to live while attending school.

SpacesShared is already operating in other provinces, including Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. Expanding to Newfoundland and Labrador was a no-brainer for the company,said Kinnon, since it has a large population of seniors and a growing demand for student housing.

Enriching communities

Kinnon said the operation is a win-win for the host and the student, as it solves a problem while building a meaningful relationship.

"[The host] gets help around the house if they're looking for it, they get companionship and they get extra income. The student gets a safe, affordable bedroom and they also get the opportunity, especially if they're new to the community, or if they're an international student, their host can be a bit of a community guide for them."

Kinnon said SpacesShared focuses on putting a dent in the loneliness challenges that older adults face, as well as the practical ones. 

Here's how it works: the host sets the rent, and then they can ask for up to five hours of assistance per week with tasks around the home from a defined list of tasks, including changing light bulbs, shovelling snow and taking out the trash.

The platform reduces monthly rent by five per cent per weekly hour of assistance, so a student can get up to a 25 per cent discount on the set rent by helping out around the house five hours a week.

"The cheapest one of our matches is paying right now $415 a month, which is amazing," Kinnon said. 

Catherina Kennedy, interim CEO of the Newfoundland and Labrador division of the Canadian Mental Health Association, is thrilled the app has made its way to Newfoundland and Labrador. 

"This works so well because it serves so many purposes. First and foremost, it provides seniors an income from rent. It allows them to have somebody in their home that can support them," said Kennedy.

"You could have somebody to sit down and have a meal with in the evening, somebody to play Scrabble with, someone to go to the store for them or to go with them. So there's that sense of purpose again."

Kennedy said the safe, affordable place for a student to live amid a housing crisis is the icing on the cake. 

Elizabeth Kidd, president and CEO of College of the North Atlantic, said it's an exciting project. 

"We have 17 campuses across this province, but we do not have residences in every one of these areas," she said.

"This is our way of ensuring that our students have options, and I think as a community college, we have a duty, if you want to call it that, to actually help our communities thrive.… It's not just about matching the student, it's about how we grow as a community and assist our seniors at the same time," said Kidd.

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