Lucas had just started studying at the University of Coimbra and couldn’t find an affordable room. The solution came from a project that opened the door to the home of 68-year-old Zulmira.
Lucas Cruz, 18 years old, entered the second phase of access to the Educational Sciences course at the University of Coimbra (California) this academic year, but after the initial happiness of getting into the course he wanted, and what was his first option was the difficulty of finding accommodation , while the private rental market has seen prices rise.
There were no vacancies in the university residences, and the prices for the rooms, in his opinion, were “not the most friendly,” a student from Esposende recalled to the Lusa agency.
“It was difficult to stay in a rented room. It was a difficult situation,” he said.
During the research he carried out in search of a solution, he found the project “Abraço de Gerações”, created in 2023 in Coimbra, thanks to which university students can receive free housing in the house of an elderly person in the city and, in return, receive, provide company and some support with household tasks.
“I saw the project […] and I ended up applying. It was the best choice I made,” he said.
The project team, supported by the Associação Cozinhas Económicas Rainha Santa Isabel (ACERSI) and coordinated by Teresa Sousa, then got to work carrying out a socio-economic and psychological assessment of students and older people who want to participate in the program.
After this assessment, which determines the selection or exclusion of candidates (in the case of students, an assessment of personality traits; in the case of older people, an assessment of cognitive decline, dementia and performance of daily activities), the team conducts a type of compatibility check between the participants and the contacts of both parties.
Considering the urgent situation of Lucas, who had already missed classes for a week and a half due to the fact that he could not find a room, the team sped up the process, and Lucas and Zulmira Santos quickly found each other.
“We got along very well,” recalled the student, who, a day after that first meeting, moved into the home of Zulmira, a 68-year-old psychiatrist who had recently retired and had already signed up at the end of the project. 2022/2023 academic year.
Zulmira Santos remembers being a little afraid at first because the project suggested a boy, although “she asked for a girl.”
“We went to the meeting, and I immediately thought that there was no problem, that the problems stopped there. Everything went well, and I was worried about the emergency situation that Lucas had,” the doctor recalled, emphasizing the fact that the project was over , which provides support and monitoring, has given him added confidence in his decision-making.
“I don’t think I could have asked for better, and over the years I think we get along very well and it feels like we’ve known each other for years,” Lucas said.
Zulmira confirms: “It was an amazing experience. He exceeded my expectations.”
For the former clinic, it’s good to have “someone at home with whom you can share aspects of life, exchange impressions, watch TV series.”
More than three months after they met, Zulmira describes Lucas as a “companion” with a “sense of humor” who makes sure their cohabitation “goes well.”
The project aims not only to provide housing to students through a simple exchange – company for room – but also to create effective and real relationships between people of different generations.
This is exactly what happens in the case of Zulmira and Lucas.
“I think it enriches him and me too,” Zulmira emphasized.
In his day-to-day life, it is the company he values most because the project selects people with autonomy, but Lucas also provides some support with “small tasks around the house.”
“Lucas always [presente]. Do you know what they are [as tarefas em que preciso de ajuda] and there is no need to tell him, he is always there to know when to reach out,” he said.
Over three months, in addition to TV series, they accumulate hours of conversations, as they like to talk “about anything and everything,” Zulmira said.
“We talk about things in our lives that few people know about,” added Lucas, emphasizing that the relationship he created with Zulmira is “almost like a family.”
Teresa Souza, project coordinator, is very pleased with this case.
“We are not interested in quantity, but in quality. We are happy to integrate more people, but we are interested in the quality of the program and the relationships that are created between people who do not know each other anywhere. and after a while they became family,” he said.
At the moment, the project involves three young people in the homes of three elderly people in Coimbra and six students, assessed and whose profile is adapted to the program, but without the possibility of responding from the other side.
To illustrate the discrepancy in demand between the two parties, Teresa Souza recalled that since the launch of the project they have already received about 100 applications from students and only ten from older people, who have attracted more attention after support from Meo, which provides “”advantageous access » to its service packages, and also aggregates responses of this type that exist nationally on the website sharedcasa.pt.
“We need more seniors to open the door to their homes and feel confident and have faith in this program because it is a serious program that has evaluation and monitoring of the process and there is no need to be afraid,” Teresa Souza said.
Zulmira praised the experience of sharing information accumulated over time and pointed out such simple things as sharing breakfast.
“This is something I haven’t had for a while, about six or seven years ago, and this company is doing very well. The hall has become more full,” he emphasized.
Apart from the sell-out, there was also a sense of altruism that prompted her to contact the project within the first hour, as soon as she read about it in the newspaper Diário de Coimbra.
“Being able to help someone who wants to learn, who wants to learn, gives me great satisfaction because I can contribute to their future,” he emphasized.
Those wishing to take part in the “Embrace of Generations” can do so through the website articulacasa.pt, by calling 969372028 or by emailing [email protected].
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Sandra Hansen, a news website Author and Reporter for 24 News Reporters. I have over 7 years of experience in the journalism field, with an extensive background in politics and political science. My passion is to tell stories that are important to people around the globe and to engage readers with compelling content.