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The Time Out Program, created in 1986 by the Intergenerational Center at Temple University, recruits, trains, and supports college students to provide high quality, low cost, in-home respite services for families caring for elderly relatives. Time Out has successfully worked with more than 1,000 families and 800 students in the Philadelphia area.
In 2013, Mentor Up, a program of the AARP Foundation, provided funds to replicate Time Out at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida and at the University of California, Los Angeles. Our thanks to Zaldy Tan, M.D., Daphna Gans, Ph.D., and Jessica Jew, MPH at UCLA and Vanessa Briscoe, Ph.D. and Trineca Huger, B.A. at Bethune-Cookman University for their tireless efforts to successfully pilot the Time Out program.
Based on lessons learned, this handbook is designed to help colleges/universities develop opportunities for engaging young people in meaningful activities that reduce the isolation of frail older adults and support caregiving families, as well as contribute to their own personal and professional development. It describes concrete steps for implementing an effective intergenerational respite care program that benefits older adults, caregivers, and students. Although it is written primarily for colleges and universities, the program could also be coordinated by social service agencies in partnership with institutions of higher education.