College is expensive. Most students won’t get their loans paid off by the generosity of a billionaire, as Robert F. Smith recently announced he’d do for the 2019 graduating class at Morehouse College.

Not only is tuition costly, so is housing. Most colleges do not have residential properties for grad students, so they are often left to their own resources. In Boston, where I live, the housing market is very tight.

But college students aren’t the only people looking for creative solutions to the economic burden of housing. For over 30 years, I’ve owned an 1800’s townhouse in Roxbury, with a front- and backyard with tall old ash trees and English ivy caressing the brick exterior of the home. The south-facing front yard pops from spring to fall with a variety of flowers, weeds, and other unmentionables. The property is a lot to maintain (and to heat in the winter). A couple years ago, I decided I needed to get ahead of the curve, offset costs, and bring in an extra pair of hands. Through a program called Nesterly, I began renting out my spare room to a PhD student at a local college.

I decided I needed to get ahead of the curve, offset costs, and bring in an extra pair of hands.

In other words, at retirement age, I became a college roommate.

The official term is intergenerational homesharing, and it’s catching on in cities around the country. According to research by AARP, roughly 90 percent of people over 65 want to age-in-place in their homes and communities, but more than 13 million people in that age group live alone, which can make it challenging. Homesharing can be a solution. Forbes Magazine estimates that nearly 80 percent of Americans age 65 and older are homeowners, many with empty rooms. In fact, it is estimated that as many as 54 million spare bedrooms sit empty every night in the U.S. (though not all in the homes of older adults).

Read More: What’s For Dinner? Maybe Just Crumbs, if You’re an Empty Nester

Welcoming My First (House) Mate

I welcomed my first house guest in the fall of 2017. Pheo was a 27-year old PhD student from Greece studying architecture, and in exchange for my affordable guest room, he would take out the trash, rake leaves, and shovel snow. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but Pheo was the gold standard: independent, respectful, and handy. And we enjoyed each other’s company, often chatting in my kitchen over dinner. We were both interested in people, cultures and social norms.

For a brief moment in time, the spirit of our ancestors connected. Right there in my kitchen!

As Christmas approached, we decided to do a dinner based on dishes that represented our traditions and heritage.

Pheo wanted to share his grandmother’s Christmas cookies, cheese pie, and other Greek delights, while I wanted to share traditional African American dishes such as collard greens, candied sweet potatoes, and, of course, a Christmas turkey.

As we cooked, I realized that this young man truly wanted me to experience his heritage and culture. I thought, what can I do to reciprocate? At that very moment, I flashed back to my mother and how we would prepare Christmas dinner in that very same kitchen, listening to Mahalia Jackson and others sing gospel songs.

So I grabbed my cell phone, loaded a music app, searched for Christmas Gospel music and connected some speakers. Suddenly the room came alive with the extraordinary music. And, for a brief moment in time, the spirit of our ancestors connected. Right there in my kitchen! It was truly uplifting and magical.

The Hidden Benefits of Homesharing

Online services like Silvernest help connect you with the right roommate. Image: Silvernest/Instagram

Before Pheo I didn’t consider myself lonely—that wasn’t my motivation for homesharing. But as an empty nester, I know that having young people in my home positively impacts my well-being. The surgeon general has referred to social alienation as an epidemic, comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes per day. One study found that people aged 60 and older who said they felt lonely were 45 percent more at risk of dying earlier than those who did not.

Since becoming a host, it is hard for me to imagine continuing to live in my home alone.

Since becoming a host, it is hard for me to imagine continuing to live in my home alone.

Pheo left at the end of the school year, and Abby arrived that August. She grew up in a Pennsylvania Dutch community and was attending a masters program in public health. In addition to chores, I could count on Abby to help me prepare my vegetable garden and take me to the home improvement store. I looked forward to our early morning chats over breakfast.

When Abby learned I liked purple pickled eggs, she reached out to her dad for a family recipe, and one afternoon we made them together. We talked about the many cultures in which this dish is popular around the world as everything cooled.

We peeled the eggs, sliced the beets, and placed them in a jar with the vinegar, sugar, and spices in the fridge. What a beautiful contrast, the white eggs and deep red beet juice. The next day, with her characteristic calm and focus, Abby opened the jars. I was bubbling with excitement. The dish was wonderful—the eggs had a purple outer rim, inner white layer, and a glowing yellow center.

I recently attended Abby’s graduation.

Read More: Making a Post-Divorce House into a Home After a Long Marriage

Making a Match

I’m a big proponent of shared living, but it’s a tough sell among my peers. People can be skeptical of opening their homes to strangers—I know I was at the beginning. Using a service helped ease my qualms. Organizations like Senior HomeShares, Silvernest, HomeShareVermont, and Nesterly provide screening and matchmaking service. There might be a slight fee, but to me it is worth it.

By taking in graduate students, something bigger is happening than sharing my home. I have made life-long connections and know that I have had a real impact on the lives of young adults. According to the Harvard Business Review, the U.S. is becoming more age-segregated, with fleeting opportunities to connect the generations. With 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 each day, we are living longer and need to manage our futures in creative ways. Homesharing is an age-old concept. I have found that it can bring in support—social, financial, or otherwise—right to my kitchen table.

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Brenda Atchison is an Encore Public Voices Fellow with The OpEd Project and a social entrepreneur.