AS soon as you walk into the doors of Sandra and Reg's place in Lambton, you can't help but feel at home.
Photographs of friends and family hang on the lounge room wall, nick-nacks line the shelves of the glass cabinet collected from their travels and there's a bowl of individually wrapped sweets ready to be offered to their next guest.
It's no surprise that when they have students who are studying at the University of Newcastle stay with them - they feel right at home.
"They walk in the door and they say 'hello mum and dad'," Sandra said.
For three decades 66-year-old Sandra and 72-year-old Reg have hosted international students and it all started from an ad in the Newcastle Herald in 1990.
"There was an ad about the Lions Club sponsoring overseas students to attend year 12 high school for one year," Sandra said.
"And I thought let's just do it, it was more of a why not?," she said.
Their first guest was Camilla, a Norwegian girl who stayed with them and for the last 35 years, they've hosted students from South Korea, Japan, China, Thailand and a Colombian student who now works for NASA.
"Some would come for two weeks, six weeks or even eight months and then we'd have their siblings want to come and stay because they had such a wonderful time," Sandra said.
"I like to help them to give them a foot in the door and I'd hope that if my children were overseas doing the same thing, someone would help them."
Over the years Sandra and Reg formed connections and travelled overseas to attend weddings and even walked one of their "kids" down the aisle.
"We've been to four international weddings and have five international 'grandchildren'. We have a lifetime of memories and friendships and it's been so lovely to see these foreign students improve their English," Sandra said.
Currently through the Australian Homestay Network, the couple have three students staying with them who include sisters Hadiya and Fatma from Nairobi, Kenya and Nachi from Yamaguchi, Japan.
With the demand for rental accommodation high in the Hunter region, Homestay has been an ideal alternate accommodation option for both international and regional students.
"It just gives them a chance to get settled in and learn how to stand on their feet without the extra stress," Sandra said.
"We also learn so much from each other."
A recent study by the University of Newcastle found young people in the Hunter have never experienced a healthy housing market, lead researcher and Institute for Regional Futures director and UON professor Roberta Ryan said.
"There has been a consistent undersupply of both rentals and properties to purchase. The last time that the Hunter had a healthy supply of rentals was 2013-2015," she said.
"It's shocking, this is the worst housing market and anyone under 35 doesn't actually know what a healthy housing market looks like."
She said stable housing forms a basis on which young people can achieve and sustain relationships, find employment, education, training and maintain physical and mental health.
"If we don't do something about it it's going to actually change their future opportunity."
UON professor and deputy Vice-Chancellor Mark Hoffman said the demand for rental accommodation was a limiting factor for many high-quality students coming to Newcastle and the Homestay program was helping to fill a gap.
"We have implemented a range of initiatives to help domestic and international students in their search for accommodation. The Homestay program can help us meet student accommodation needs, through either short or long-term stays in local homes, as well as building community connections," he said.
He said the university was looking for more Homestay host families across Newcastle and the Hunter to offer international and regional students a safe, affordable, and family-orientated home environment while studying in the area.
Also helping students settle into life in Newcastle, the university has announced an International Student Ambassador program.
The program, co-facilitated by the University of Newcastle together with the City of Newcastle, Study NSW, and TAFE NSW has been developed to connect international students with the community through dedicated student ambassadors.
International Student Ambassador Nataly Soto said she looked forward to amplifying the visibility of international students in the community and helping to build their vital connections for success in Newcastle.
"Having been an international student myself, I understand the difficulties that come with studying overseas and I firmly believe these challenges can be overcome with the right resources," she said.
"I hope this program will help to create lifelong connections and make Newcastle not only a destination for education, but a true home away from home for these students."
