Student.com announces that the the Together by Student.com initiative will help connect communities across the nation at is launches nationwide in 2020.
Together.com will be available nationwide across the UK during early 2020, following a successful launch in Sheffield. Together – created as a direct response to 70% of students feeling lonely whilst at university – provides an opportunity for students and care home residents in local communities to create long-lasting friendships, encouraging healthy wellbeing, by building a network outside of their accommodation.
Celebrating the initiative, Together by Student.com hosted a tea party in Sheffield for the care home residents and students taking part in the initiative. The students and care home residents shared favourite family and friendship memories, as well as discussing the latest news and even sharing dating advice.
The initiative helps to remedy research statistics showing that both students and the older generation in local communities are at risk of the negative impact of loneliness on mental health and wellbeing. For students, adjusting to the student lifestyle and often living away from home for the first time can be a challenge to maintain healthy day-to-day routines due to academic, social and financial pressures. For the older members of the local community, according to Age UK, more than 1.7 million older people say they go for over a month without speaking to a friend, neighbour or family member.
Dan Baker, General Manager, EMEA at Student.com comments: “It’s really encouraging to see the interest by students in the Together initiative. It shows that students are keen to become part of their local community whilst at university, especially if they are coming from another city or country to study, to help their sense of belonging. Headlines this year within the higher education sector have been dominated around student mental health and loneliness, and that will continue as the industry looks to find solutions to help students feel at home – wherever they choose to study. We are delighted that we are able to take Together nationwide, and look forward to hearing first-hand of the benefits experienced by care home residents and students as we continue the Together journey.”
