Elizabeth Hill will never forget the minor incident that might have cost her her life, if it wasn’t for the help of a newcomer student she was housing.

She had just returned home from walking her dog when she suddenly felt very weak and collapsed on the floor.

“So I looked up at the ceiling and I remember thinking, I’m in my 70s and you don’t know what a heart attack looks like or a stroke or something,” Hill, now 75, said of the incident about five years ago.

She had been renting out her west-end Toronto home on and off, since her husband died about 20 years ago, to help pay her bills. A young man from Brazil, one of several young people she’s housed over the years, was renting a room while he studied English.

Fearing the worst, she mustered enough energy to call for him, and mimicked instructions to go to the phone and dial 911. An ambulance came and it turned out she’d had an allergic reaction to a wasp sting.

“He had only two weeks of English in Toronto, but that young man saved my life,” she said. Since then, she says she tries to continuously share part of her house with young people in need of a place to stay.

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Hill was one of about 30 people who attended an information session this week for HomeShare, a new pilot project that looks to match seniors who live alone and have room to spare in their house or apartment for young students who are cash-strapped and in need of affordable housing.

Starting in September, the project will pair at least 20 students from the University of Toronto, Ryerson University and York University with willing senior homeowners or renters in the city. The program aims to bridge an intergenerational gap, while addressing housing affordability for young people.

Members of the National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly, a Toronto non-profit organization that won a provincial grant to carry out the pilot project, hosted the information session at city hall to offer details on how the pilot will work.

They explained that participating students will get a rental discount from homeowners in exchange for contributing to household chores, such as snow removal, grocery shopping or walking a dog.

“We know that there’s a housing crisis in Toronto, we know that there’s less than a 2 per cent vacancy rate within the city and we also know that the housing costs can be unattainable for students,” said Tonya Salomons, a social worker and one of the project’s leaders.

She said the project will help ease the burden of physical labour on seniors, while creating social and emotional connections between them and young people — some of whom may be new to the country and could face loneliness and depression.

“While there’s a monetary benefit, we’re hoping that it’s more than just a room,” Salomons said, adding both parties can learn from each other’s cultural background and prevent social isolation.

“It could mean that a senior gets someone to share a meal with, go for a walk or just have a conversation.”

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The project will facilitate the matching process, which will include home assessment and background safety screening, to be done in conjunction with the Toronto Police Service, Salomons said. While the project can offer some guidance, the rent price will be decided by homeowners, she said.

A similar home-sharing project launched last year in Boston, first matching students and senior homeowners and later expanding to include the general population.

Closer to home, HomeShare projects have already been successful in smaller regions such as Halton and Northumberland County.

Councillor Josh Matlow, who spearheads the city’s seniors strategy, said HomeShare is a creative and effective way to address the issue of seniors who need care and young people who need housing.

“As governments, there’s evidence out there to demonstrate that we’re letting a lot of people down,” he said.

“Young people are leaving Toronto because they can’t afford the rent, and our elderly people are struggling. That’s why we need to address these issues proactively.”

Rosemary Foulds and Alan Ritchie, who also attended the information session, are both retired and live in a three-bedroom apartment near High Park. They use only one of the rooms, and are happy the HomeShare project can help find ideal tenants who can also keep them company.

“What you want is a reciprocal relationship, somebody who becomes like your companion,” Ritchie said.

“You also hope that if they’re playing loud music and you tell them to turn it down, they’ll actually pay attention to you.”

Elizabeth Hill has compiled seven “guest books” filled with photos and thank-you notes from the dozens of young international students who have stayed with her over the past two decades.

Ninety-five per cent of her experiences with young renters have been positive, she said.

When Julio Hernandez, 32, arrived on Hill’s doorstep from Cuba in 2011, they agreed he could stay in her home for a six-month trial period as he set out to earn his master’s degree.

The benefits of the arrangement can go far beyond reduced living costs, he said.

“At this point, I see her more like a friend than my landlady,” Hernandez said. “She’s like my Toronto family.”