WEBVTT 00:00:44.300 --> 00:01:12.400 [Music] 00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:31.666 [Soft piano music] 00:01:31.666 --> 00:01:33.499 >>Like most of us, 00:01:33.500 --> 00:01:36.466 I’m afraid of getting old 00:01:36.466 --> 00:01:37.732 and of the loneliness 00:01:37.733 --> 00:01:39.699 that seems to come with old age. 00:01:43.166 --> 00:01:47.266 But maybe things don’t have to be that way. 00:01:51.033 --> 00:01:53.099 Jordi is a young artist. 00:01:53.100 --> 00:01:54.133 >>Hello. Come in. 00:01:54.133 --> 00:01:57.333 >>And he lives in a unique old folk’s home 00:01:57.333 --> 00:01:58.433 in the Netherlands. 00:02:00.633 --> 00:02:02.633 He paints and creates craft projects, 00:02:02.633 --> 00:02:05.766 like this table he made from a piano crate. 00:02:05.766 --> 00:02:07.432 And you do that a lot with the residents; 00:02:07.433 --> 00:02:08.433 you make crafts and things. 00:02:08.433 --> 00:02:10.266 >>Yeah. I try to do it. 00:02:10.266 --> 00:02:12.032 >>And is that a picture of your family? 00:02:12.033 --> 00:02:13.299 Can you show me? 00:02:13.300 --> 00:02:15.700 >>My grandfather and my grandma 00:02:15.700 --> 00:02:16.900 when I was younger. 00:02:18.666 --> 00:02:19.399 >>It’s adorable. 00:02:19.400 --> 00:02:21.033 >>Yeah. I love them. 00:02:21.033 --> 00:02:24.333 I love them a lot. 00:02:24.333 --> 00:02:25.099 >>Is it . . . 00:02:25.100 --> 00:02:26.933 Is the relationship with your grandparents 00:02:26.933 --> 00:02:29.799 that helps you be so good with the elderly here? 00:02:29.800 --> 00:02:32.300 >>I think also because they . . . 00:02:32.300 --> 00:02:35.466 they teach me so much good things, 00:02:35.466 --> 00:02:39.732 how to go around to people that uh . . . 00:02:39.733 --> 00:02:42.699 Yeah. Nah. Everything. 00:02:45.033 --> 00:02:46.066 >>Not long ago, 00:02:46.066 --> 00:02:49.299 the Dutch senior citizens who live at Humanitas 00:02:49.300 --> 00:02:51.300 invited Jordi and five other students 00:02:51.300 --> 00:02:54.300 to move in rent-free. 00:02:54.300 --> 00:02:56.966 The students all told me that living here 00:02:56.966 --> 00:02:58.532 is nothing like you’d expect. 00:03:24.066 --> 00:03:25.632 >>One of Jordi’s favorite ways 00:03:25.633 --> 00:03:27.566 to spend time with his neighbors 00:03:27.566 --> 00:03:30.232 is by taking them around the town of DeVanter 00:03:30.233 --> 00:03:33.133 by a specialized tandem bicycle. 00:03:33.133 --> 00:03:35.333 It’s just one of the ways that Humanitas 00:03:35.333 --> 00:03:37.533 tries to make life in its community 00:03:37.533 --> 00:03:38.966 a little more fun. 00:03:59.900 --> 00:04:02.100 >>It was CEO’s Gea Sijpkes idea 00:04:02.100 --> 00:04:05.300 to offer these students rooms at Humanitas. 00:04:05.300 --> 00:04:06.733 And all she asked in return 00:04:06.733 --> 00:04:08.033 was that the students spend 00:04:08.033 --> 00:04:10.566 at least 30 hours a month 00:04:10.566 --> 00:04:15.232 acting neighborly to the senior residents. 00:04:21.766 --> 00:04:24.866 Jurrien Mentink says that Humanitas’ offer 00:04:24.866 --> 00:04:27.232 couldn’t have come at a better time. 00:04:27.233 --> 00:04:28.233 Many Dutch students 00:04:28.233 --> 00:04:30.433 in and around Amsterdam today 00:04:30.433 --> 00:04:32.333 can’t find a room to rent at all. 00:04:32.333 --> 00:04:33.566 >>Now I have to cook dinner. 00:04:33.566 --> 00:04:34.699 >>Yes. 00:04:51.966 --> 00:04:54.499 >>Jurrien is 22 years old, 00:04:54.500 --> 00:04:56.633 and his neighbors, like Joke Van Beek, 00:04:56.633 --> 00:04:59.433 are in their 80’s and 90’s. 00:05:01.333 --> 00:05:02.666 Despite the age gap, 00:05:02.666 --> 00:05:05.266 Jurrien and Joke’s friendship is a dynamic 00:05:05.266 --> 00:05:08.366 that often seems like it’s between two teenagers. 00:06:00.200 --> 00:06:02.000 >>Friendships like this one 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:05.200 are exactly what Humanitas is trying to nurture. 00:06:15.333 --> 00:06:17.999 How Jurrien spends his 30 hours a month 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:20.966 of service is up to him. 00:06:20.966 --> 00:06:25.232 His official title isn’t staff or volunteer. 00:06:25.233 --> 00:06:26.999 It’s good neighbor. 00:06:38.133 --> 00:06:39.433 >>At Humanitas, 00:06:39.433 --> 00:06:42.633 good neighbor somehow means being part local, 00:06:42.633 --> 00:06:44.033 part friend, 00:06:44.033 --> 00:06:45.266 part grandchild, 00:06:45.266 --> 00:06:46.799 part social worker, 00:06:46.800 --> 00:06:49.166 part healthcare provider, 00:06:51.066 --> 00:06:53.499 and some days it means teaching 00:06:53.500 --> 00:06:56.466 an 84-year-old woman to play beer pong. 00:07:43.100 --> 00:07:55.300 [Rock music] 00:08:46.333 --> 00:08:48.866 >>I noticed early on that the students here 00:08:48.866 --> 00:08:52.866 often talk with a sort of calm beyond their years. 00:08:52.866 --> 00:08:56.366 They don’t often seem much of a hurry. 00:08:56.366 --> 00:08:58.299 Jurrien says that is one of the most 00:08:58.300 --> 00:09:00.100 important life lessons 00:09:00.100 --> 00:09:01.066 the students have learned 00:09:01.066 --> 00:09:02.366 from their elderly neighbors. 00:09:30.333 --> 00:09:33.066 The students all talk about Mrs. Hofsteede 00:09:33.066 --> 00:09:35.899 as a role model 00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:41.666 for living a full and happy life in later years. 00:09:41.666 --> 00:09:43.366 She moved in a few years ago. 00:09:52.466 --> 00:09:55.266 She lives on the seventh floor 00:09:55.266 --> 00:09:58.132 in a spacious room overlooking the park, 00:09:58.133 --> 00:09:59.999 and she says she feel younger 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:02.633 than her 88 years. 00:10:02.633 --> 00:10:04.766 >>Hello. 00:10:13.566 --> 00:10:16.732 >>At lunch time, the most social time, 00:10:16.733 --> 00:10:18.699 every day at Humanitas, 00:10:18.700 --> 00:10:22.500 Mrs. Hofsteede always sits at the same table. 00:10:22.500 --> 00:10:24.566 You see, the Humanitas dining room 00:10:24.566 --> 00:10:27.599 is a lot like a high school cafeteria. 00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:30.500 Mrs. Hofsteede is quite popular, 00:10:30.500 --> 00:10:32.033 and so she always sits 00:10:32.033 --> 00:10:34.599 with the other popular girls, 00:10:34.600 --> 00:10:36.566 like her best friend Antonia, 00:10:36.566 --> 00:10:40.666 whose nickname is “the trash compacter.” 00:10:40.666 --> 00:10:41.632 >>Appetite. 00:10:41.633 --> 00:10:42.366 >>Yeah? 00:10:42.366 --> 00:10:43.832 >>I like that. 00:11:17.900 --> 00:11:19.566 >>And like high school, 00:11:19.566 --> 00:11:21.532 lunchtime is when the rumor mill 00:11:21.533 --> 00:11:24.166 really starts to turn. 00:11:24.166 --> 00:11:26.266 Outside of the time they volunteer, 00:11:26.266 --> 00:11:27.732 the students are free to live 00:11:27.733 --> 00:11:29.733 without any special restrictions, 00:11:29.733 --> 00:11:32.866 going out or bringing people home 00:11:32.866 --> 00:11:34.266 just as they like. 00:12:13.466 --> 00:12:15.266 >>And there’s a lot more flirting 00:12:15.266 --> 00:12:17.266 that goes on than I expected to find 00:12:17.266 --> 00:12:18.766 in an old folk’s home. 00:12:52.966 --> 00:12:54.099 >>The students all like 00:12:54.100 --> 00:12:56.266 teaching their senior neighbors a lesson 00:12:56.266 --> 00:12:58.832 from time to time. 00:13:02.800 --> 00:13:04.233 Everything Mrs. Middelburg knows 00:13:04.233 --> 00:13:06.499 about the internet she learned from Jurrien. 00:13:28.100 --> 00:13:30.400 >>But Jurrien says that none of this feels 00:13:30.400 --> 00:13:33.366 like some community service. 00:13:33.366 --> 00:13:36.732 He and Mrs. Middelburg just like hanging out. 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:14.166 >>And how do Jurrien's own family 00:14:14.166 --> 00:14:16.832 feel about him living here at Humanitas? 00:14:18.333 --> 00:14:20.466 His parents have been as surprised 00:14:20.466 --> 00:14:23.032 as he has been to find that Jurrien 00:14:23.033 --> 00:14:24.833 seems very happy here indeed. 00:14:46.633 --> 00:14:47.666 >>There is, of course, 00:14:47.666 --> 00:14:49.499 the unavoidable loneliness 00:14:49.500 --> 00:14:53.133 that accompanies dementia. 00:14:53.133 --> 00:14:54.799 The dementia ward is equipped 00:14:54.800 --> 00:14:57.600 with everything you could expect. 00:14:57.600 --> 00:14:59.333 But it has little of the warmth 00:14:59.333 --> 00:15:03.433 of the rest of the residents. 00:15:03.433 --> 00:15:06.199 Jordi feels an added responsibility 00:15:06.200 --> 00:15:08.266 to help those suffering dementia. 00:15:46.833 --> 00:15:50.099 >>Lucius is this man’s stage name, 00:15:50.100 --> 00:15:52.633 but I was never given another one, 00:15:52.633 --> 00:15:55.666 and I never got the chance to ask. 00:15:55.666 --> 00:15:57.466 We didn’t get to talk for very long. 00:15:57.466 --> 00:16:00.299 Lucius lost the ability to talk much 00:16:00.300 --> 00:16:01.933 about the here and now. 00:16:11.733 --> 00:16:14.133 >>I saw in Lucius immediately 00:16:14.133 --> 00:16:16.766 the kind of kindred spirit, 00:16:16.766 --> 00:16:20.199 and it was like a glimpse of a possible future self 00:16:20.200 --> 00:16:25.133 set adrift in my own fading memories. 00:16:25.133 --> 00:16:27.966 Having exchanged barely a word with him, 00:16:27.966 --> 00:16:30.799 meeting Lucius affected me a great deal. 00:16:40.666 --> 00:16:43.132 The hardest thing about living here, 00:16:43.133 --> 00:16:45.333 old or young, 00:16:45.333 --> 00:16:49.866 is how often death comes to call. 00:16:49.866 --> 00:16:52.132 Some of the seniors are still racked 00:16:52.133 --> 00:16:54.933 with intense longing for lost loved ones. 00:17:13.833 --> 00:17:16.433 While many others, like Mrs. Middelburg, 00:17:16.433 --> 00:17:19.499 seem almost unfazed by the realities of death. 00:17:35.966 --> 00:17:38.532 A few of the students had never seen death 00:17:38.533 --> 00:17:41.533 up close before living here. 00:17:41.533 --> 00:17:44.299 For them, facing death has been the hardest 00:17:44.300 --> 00:17:46.333 and maybe most valuable lesson 00:17:46.333 --> 00:17:48.166 that Humanitas has taught them. 00:18:33.166 --> 00:18:34.999 Jurrien is about to graduate 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:38.700 from a degree in urban planning, 00:18:38.700 --> 00:18:41.400 but he is now considering devoting his career 00:18:41.400 --> 00:18:43.566 to old age care instead. 00:18:53.366 --> 00:18:54.766 No matter which direction 00:18:54.766 --> 00:18:56.566 he chooses from here, 00:18:56.566 --> 00:18:58.366 Jurrien won’t forget the importance 00:18:58.366 --> 00:18:59.966 of being a good neighbor, 00:18:59.966 --> 00:19:03.932 like he has been to Joke Van Beek. 00:19:03.933 --> 00:19:05.266 That day he told me 00:19:05.266 --> 00:19:07.366 that he had started to see the signs 00:19:07.366 --> 00:19:09.799 of Joke slipping away, 00:19:09.800 --> 00:19:12.466 and then only a few weeks later, 00:19:12.466 --> 00:19:14.632 Joke passed on. 00:19:14.633 --> 00:19:16.999 And I know that Jurrien has missed her 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:18.400 since she’s been gone. 00:19:24.466 --> 00:19:26.799 It took me a litttle while to grab hold 00:19:26.800 --> 00:19:29.000 of what makes this place different 00:19:29.000 --> 00:19:32.333 than anywhere else I’ve been. 00:19:32.333 --> 00:19:34.566 Humanitas hasn’t somehow 00:19:34.566 --> 00:19:38.299 cut out the hard realities of aging. 00:19:38.300 --> 00:19:41.733 It’s just that it lets so much more than that 00:19:41.733 --> 00:19:43.433 through its front door. 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:47.233 As I went to say goodbye 00:19:47.233 --> 00:19:48.933 on the last day of my visit, 00:19:48.933 --> 00:19:51.999 I passed by the weekly wheelchair dance recital. 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:55.900 [Clapping and music] 00:19:55.900 --> 00:19:57.200 This was the other moment 00:19:57.200 --> 00:19:59.166 that really stayed with me. 00:19:59.166 --> 00:20:04.199 [Upbeat Dutch music] 00:20:04.200 --> 00:20:05.733 Again, I could see myself 00:20:05.733 --> 00:20:09.499 reflected back years on from now, 00:20:09.500 --> 00:20:11.333 and for that moment, 00:20:11.333 --> 00:20:13.566 I really didn’t mind the idea of getting old. 00:20:14.400 --> 00:20:24.400 [Upbeat Dutch music]