For only $500 a month, these Kelowna students are earning their keep in a seniors’ complex
Two UBC Okanagan students have snagged an unbelievable deal for housing at a Kelowna seniors complex, in exchange for their time.
For only $500 a month, Paul Anderson and Mike Marshall volunteer their spare time and connect with the seniors at the Vineyards Residence, in Glenmore, which has four dorm rooms for students in the basement section of the five-storey building.
“It makes both generations relate to one another, get to know one another,” said Jenelle Hynes, community relations manager of the residence.
READ MORE: Hundreds of students in need of homes in Kelowna
The affordable rent includes Wi-Fi, a dorm room and a kitchenette. In exchange, all they have to do is spend 10 hours a week with the seniors, she said.
The complex opened in July 2021, but owner Sussex Retirement Living decided to include four dorm rooms for a multi-generational experience when the facility was being planned. The other units are being used for seniors in long-term care and assisted living.
“We didn’t have a lot of applicants because we hadn’t really promoted it,” Hynes said. “We were really fortunate when first Paul contacted me and he had heard about the program through his sister.”
The pair from Regina have settled in the dorms and are even getting paid through employment opportunities within the complex as they help out in the kitchen.
For the January semester, they’re hoping to find one more student that is fully vaccinated again COVID-19 and the flu and is male. A background check will be conducted, along with a Criminal Records check and an interview with references, Hynes said.
According to Zumper, an average one-bedroom rental went for $1,950 a month. Two bedrooms are rented on average for $2,375. The rental vacancy rate in the city is less than one percent.
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