By Robin Estrin, Berkeleyside, December 2, 2019
Marcia Garcia, 29, moved to the Bay Area in August, admitted to UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy for a master’s degree. Searching for housing, she quickly learned that options were scarce—and expensive. But thanks to a new program that pairs up graduate students and University retirees with room to spare, she found something affordable: a first-floor bedroom with its own entrance, in a house owned by Cal alumna Linda Artel.
“I like it,” said Garcia over tea with Artel on a recent evening. “It feels like home.”
The program, called Berkeley Home Match, leverages the housing needs of two growing populations in the city: older adults and students. For Artel and Garcia, one of nine matches made in the program’s pilot year, living together is not just a financial agreement—it’s an opportunity for generational and cultural exchange. Garcia recently helped Artel, who is in her 70s, connect streaming services to her TV. Now the two are watching the Netflix reboot of Norman Lear’s “One Day at a Time” in their shared living room.
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