Humanitas is one of the Netherlands’
main social services organizations. It provides support to people
who are temporarily unable to manage on their own, and one of its
major areas of focus is elder care.
Social isolation and loneliness is a chronic problem for the
elderly, but a Humanitas nursing home has come up with a unique
solution. The home offers free housing to local students if the
students agree to spend a minimum of 30 hours per month
interacting with the 160 elderly residents. The time can be spent
doing anything from helping with meal preparation, shopping trips,
teaching seniors to use computers, playing games, or just sitting
and talking. The students might also learn a thing or two in
the process.