Retirement homes aren’t often thought of as anything more-or-less than a place your parents check your grandparents in — for one reason or another — when it’s clear they need more attention than anyone in the family is capable of giving them throughout the day. They’re also not thought of as a place where young people would lay their heads at night, but that’s exactly what’s happening at one retirement home that’s set up a genius bartering system that’s bringing young and old people together under one unlikely roof.
Judson Manor — a retirement community located in Cleveland — is offering room and board for music students at no charge in exchange for performing recitals and concerts for the older residents. While this might seem a bit unorthodox on the cover, it’s hard to scoff at free rent in exchange for practicing the music you love.
In the video above the relationship between residents Tiffany Tieu, 26, and Laura Berick, 80, is spotlighted. Of the reactions Tieu gets from friends when she says at the end of the night she has to dip back to her ALF crib, she says “When I tell people I live in a retirement community I get a lot of mixed reactions; some people don’t believe me, while other people think it’s a wonderful idea.”
The pair obviously enjoy each others company, and both get something incredibly meaningful out of their unique roommate arrangement. In the end it’s a win-win, and one of the sweeter stories we’ve heard all day.
(Via Great Big Story)
