Dear George,
Thank you for all you do for our community, for the newspaper, and for the concert series at St.Veronica’s. I love your idea about senior share housing. And I wonder too if something might begin before an actual housing situation is created. Many of our public high schools ask students to put in so many community service hours a semester. I wonder if students in the neighborhood might be paired with people who need help (that person on the 5th floor who has trouble getting down the stairs to walk the dog, the person who needs to be read to, the person who needs someone to carry groceries, who might need only a 30-minute visit, etc.)
Might WestView offer a space for folks to register? Or perhaps a young person could volunteer to make a computer list?
I read too the letter about the person who noted that many of the concerns in the paper center around senior concerns. And I too would hope that younger people volunteer to write for the paper—to bring out their concerns, ideas, celebrations, etc.
Thank you, George, for all you do. I hope you send out a call for more and more writers and volunteers, and that we might consider a senior student match up for the West Village.
With every best wish, Marie Howe
Dear Marie,
Your idea of pairing up seniors with younger or at least more functional helpers is right on target.
So much so I think it is probably already happening (I would guess there are computer matching services or companies that do this for a fee).
Our Architectural Editor, Brian Pape, discovered that Senior Share apartments are built in Europe and there is an American Institute of Architecture exhibit going on right now at their headquarters on La Guardia Place.
I am tempted to start a matching service in WestView.
So readers, what do you think?
SENIOR SHARING
90-year-old former teacher wants to share her two bedroom apartment with compatible and capable younger women in return for help shopping and getting to the doctor—rent share $500 a month.
Tell me if you like this and and we might try it.
—George
George—
Brilliant. Yes!
—Marie
