Scheme matching isolated homeowners with young professionals gets £25,000 grant
Matching tool to pairs isolated older people with younger flatmates to tackle loneliness and rising rents gets cash prize
A scheme matching elderly and isolated homeowners with young professionals has been awarded a £25,000 grant to tackle loneliness and rising rents in one fell swoop.
Two Generations, which was presented at Limmud this year, was one of ten finalists awarded the cash prize by Nesta Challenges and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, it was revealed on Tuesday.
Submissions were judged against various criteria, such as impact on social isolation, whether the idea is innovative, and its scalability and feasibility.
The Jewish team behind Two Generations uses a matching tool to pair isolated older people with younger flatmates who help out with chores and provide companionship in return for reduced rent.
The group performs DBS checks on homeowners and flatmates while also comparing their dietary requirements, locations and lifestyle. A prototype of the tool will be shown at an event next year for a chance to win another cash prize.
“We are delighted to have received this Nesta grant which will enable us to design more sophisticated matching technology to ensure that the quality of the match is the best it can be, and to increase the efficiency of the matching process, thus ensuring even more matches can be made,” said Sam Brandman, the social enterprise’s co-founder and CEO.
The award was part of the “Tech to Connect Challenge” scheme, which supports projects using technology to combat loneliness, which affects more than one in five people across the UK.
Civil Society Minister Baroness Barran said: “Loneliness and social isolation is one of the biggest public health challenges we face today. Nobody should feel they don’t have anyone to turn to. Yet this is a reality for far too many people. Harnessing the power of technology is an important way to tackle this issue and I am excited by the potential of these innovations to make a real difference to people’s lives.”
Tris Dyson, executive director of Nesta Challenges, added: “Tech can offer powerful ways to bring people together, and we are excited to start working with these innovators to develop their concepts. By supporting and scaling these ideas, we can ultimately work together to help reduce social isolation.”
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