Program Launch – Oct. 1, 2022
On Saturday October 1, 2022, in Belleville’s beautiful Market Square, Home Share Loyalist officially launched; surrounded by the community, local dignitaries as well as the home share team and many volunteers of the program. This event coincided with National Seniors Day, which was very fitting, as a part of our program is geared towards combating social isolation within the older adult population.
Over 200 people were part of the market crowd and learned about this new initiative to help Loyalist students and older adults in the community co-habitat with each other through this program’s skillful matching process. Students living with older adults was seen as a win-win for both.
Mayor Mitch Panciuk, MPP Todd Smith, MP Ryan Williams and the Acting President of Loyalist College, Mark Kirkpatrick all took the stage to share their support and thoughts on the benefits of this type of intergenerational housing program. The consensus was that this program has the possibilities to do many amazing things for the community and help bridge the gap between generations.
This project provides learning opportunities for Social Service Worker students attending Loyalist College. It is anticipated that over 18 students will have the opportunity to participate in the development and implementation of this program as part of their practicum training before the end of 2023. As of January 2022, 10 Social Service Worker (SSW) students have had the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills in program planning and implementation.
- Winter 2023: One domestic and one international student focusing on recruiting students and older adults.
- Fall 2022: Three international students from the SSW program helped launch the program on October 1, 2022, National Seniors Day.
- Winter 2020: One group of students (4) worked together to develop a discussion paper that outlines the benefits and challenges for home seekers and home providers and identify implementation strategies outlined in the literature. They completed a report that outlines resources available to be adapted as the Loyalist program is developed.
- Fall 2021: A domestic student who identified as an older adult and an international student, both from the SSW program, worked to continue to develop content for the policy and procedures manual.
- January 2021: Two international students from the SSW program focused on adding content to the policy and procedure manual to help guide the implementation of the program (which will include COVID-19 guidelines and practices), developed content and images for the program web page, and planned and implemented the first Advisory Committee meeting with community partners and a presentation to the leadership team at Loyalist to outline the process of the project after one year.
- Spring 2020: Two students, one of whom was an international student, worked on drafting the policy and procedures manual, specifically the application process for both students and home providers to the program. They started to develop the content for the program web page to be located on the Loyalist College website and helped conduct key informant interviews with representatives from community organizations/partners.
Learn more about the students involved in this project.