A Nursing Home in China Offers Recent Grads Cheap Rent in Return for Spending Time With Seniors

One of the most overlooked problems people face as they age is isolation. Loneliness touches one-third to one-half of the elderly population, and it can have tangible effects on their physical and mental wellbeing. One retirement home in China is combating this issue by inviting young adults to keep residents company in exchange for discounted rent rates, Sixth Tone reports.

Sunshine Home, a privately run, state-funded senior living center in Hangzhou, China, welcomed about a dozen 20-somethings into the facility this past July. Costing just 300 yuan, or about $44, a month, the home is an affordable option for many recent college graduates looking to start their careers in the city. As part of the deal, they're asked to spend at least 20 hours a month with the elderly tenants, either by reading to them, chatting, showing them how to use their smartphones, or leading classes.

The arrangement is a win-win for both age groups: Young residents get an inexpensive place to live and the seniors get companionship they may not have had otherwise. Sunshine Home, which was built last year, still needs to fill about 1400 of its 2000 beds.

Most senior living facilities don't share this problem with Sunshine Home. Elderly populations are booming around the world, including in China, and many nursing home are struggling to make room for the influx of new residents. Whether the model is able to succeed on a wider scale is still to be determined, but Sunshine Home's project has received mostly positive feedback from participants so far.

Young people don't necessarily need to share a home with lonely seniors to offer them companionship. Teenagers volunteering through the California-based nonprofit Forget Me Not keep older adults company by chatting with them on the phone.