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Wohnen für Hilfe - Intergenerational housing partnerships in Cologne
Living together - making everyday life easier!
Living for help has been arranging housing partnership in Cologne since 2009. Wohnen für Hilfe is based on the idea of bringing together people with different needs from different generations.
Senior citizens, families, single parents or people with disabilities who run their own households and would like the company, support and security of a student provide living space. In return, the student assists the housing provider with everyday tasks.
Support services are based on the needs of the housing provider. Conceivable services include : household help, gardening, shopping, pet care, walking, companionship, childcare, etc.
However, care services of any kind are excluded from the support services.
A contract is concluded between the living partners, in which the respective support services are agreed. Above all, the type and scope of the support as well as the amount of the ancillary costs are taken into account here.
The rule of thump is, that students provide one hour of assitance per month per square meter of living space provided. The incidental costs, suchs as electricity, heating and water, are paid by the students. Currently, five Euros are charged per square meter.
Both sides benefit within the housing partnership through mutual support.
Wohnen für Hilfe is a cooperation between the Office of Housing of the City of Cologne and the University of Cologne in cooperation with the Senior Citizens‘ Representative Office of the City of Cologne.