Soon, hosts on popular home-renting app Airbnb will be able to let patients stay at their places for free.
In October, New York-based shared workspace company WeWork will soon begin offering "collaboration hubs" for researchers, patients, and advocates to meet together.
They are among 57 commitments made on Friday by companies and organizations as part of a summit hosted by the Biden Cancer Initiative, started by former vice president Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden.
RELATED: Joe and Jill Biden launch new cancer initiative
The commitments are building off the White House Cancer Moonshot from 2016, and are part of a growing collection of efforts to ease the burdens of cancer on patients and their families, Biden told an audience at the summit in Washington, D.C.
"And many of you know they are real burdens: 'How do I get to my chemo? Who is going to take care of my baby? I don't have the money for the cab or the car. Who is going to help me? Who is going to make sure and cook the meal for my kids if I'm not here?'" he said.
Among those solutions, Airbnb said it was expanding its Open Homes platform, which allows hosts to provide housing for natural disaster evacuees and refugees. This extends the reach of the program. The platform connects hosts with trusted organizations—such as the Fisher House Foundation—to place patients and address the costly problem of accommodations for those who travel for care.
"Our mission is to help create a world where anyone can belong anywhere, and our Open Homes platform extends that mission of belonging to those in the greatest need," said Airbnb Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer Joe Gebbia in a statement.