BarrieToday celebrates a partnership to empower intergenerational homesharing

BarrieToday.com, the trusted online news platform serving the Barrie community, is excited to showcase a transformative partnership between SpacesShared, a leading homesharing platform for students, and Georgian College. This collaboration aims to revolutionize student housing options and foster a sense of community among college students.

The article highlights how SpacesShared, a trailblazing online platform, connects students seeking housing with local hosts offering safe and affordable accommodations. By teaming up with Georgian College, SpacesShared aims to address the challenges faced by students in finding suitable housing while creating a supportive and inclusive living environment.

This collaboration not only provides a practical solution for student housing needs but also promotes cross-cultural exchange, networking opportunities, and a sense of belonging. By connecting students with welcoming hosts in the community, SpacesShared and Georgian College are fostering an enriching living experience that extends beyond the classroom.

BarrieToday.com celebrates the shared vision of SpacesShared and Georgian College in redefining student housing. By harnessing the power of technology and community collaboration, this partnership opens doors to new possibilities, strengthens ties within the community, and empowers students to thrive during their educational journey.

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Georgian College is working with SpacesShared, a technology platform that connects students who need a place to live with older adults living at home to create mutually beneficial sharing arrangements.  

With SpacesShared, older adults can safely offer a spare bedroom for extra income, enjoy the company of a housemate, and get help with chores around the house all while giving students much-needed safe and affordable housing options.  

“Older adults and students are two groups who have so much to offer one another, which is why we wanted to build a safe space for them to meet and match,” said Rylan Kinnon, chief executive officer, SpacesShared. “We've made our platform really user-friendly — if you can use Facebook, you can use SpacesShared.”  

The first phase of the home-sharing partnership between Georgian and SpacesShared is launching in the Barrie area. The focus will be on building a pool of older adults who wish to open their home to a student for a semester or school year.

In the second phase, students will be invited to create profiles on the platform and connect with compatible hosts recommended by the SpacesShared algorithm.

The fully developed platform will allow verified users to match.

“Georgian is committed to continuing to play a key role in driving our region’s economy by attracting and training our future workforce,” said Suzie Addison-Toor, vice-president, student success. “We need safe and affordable housing for our students because if they don’t have access to that, it puts up huge barriers to being successful in academia, which puts up barriers to being successful in life.

"We also know this kind of program can also help with social isolation – both for students who may be far from home and for seniors in our community.”

Georgian is the first post-secondary institution to launch on the SpacesShared platform and the company is providing a customized program for the college.

While the first phase of the project is focused on Barrie, both partners are committed to adding the program to other Georgian campus locations in the future.

Addison-Toor is optimistic about the program and working with SpacesShared, which is also very student-centric.

“We both see students in need of affordable housing alternatives, and SpacesShared’s vision is built around that connection to close the gap,” said Addison-Toor.

If you or someone you know has a spare room and would benefit from a student’s help, company, or some extra income, sign up at SpacesShared.ca.  

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