What does Home Share mean?
Home Share means that you move in and live with a person or family that provides you with the support you need. This can mean that you live with one person, a couple or a whole family. This person or these people are called your Home Share Providers.
Home Share Providers are picked by us because they want to share their home with a person who needs support but also because they are ready and have the skills to provide good support based on what you need.
Home Share…..Who helps me?
Your Community Living BC Facilitator:
This is the person you or your family met with to talk about what kinds of services you need. This person probably asked you some questions about what you would like and what sorts of things you need some support with. This is the person who helped decide if Home Share would be a good service for you.
Community Connections Support Services:
This is our agency. We have a whole team that will help you find a home to move into and make sure you are getting what you need.
- The Home Share Service Coordinator: this is the person that CLBC or you will talk to about getting Home Share services. This person is responsible for making sure that our agency has the kind of support you need and will make a decision about whether or not you can access the kind of Home Share Services you need through our agency. This person is also the person whose job it is to make sure we have skilled Home Share Providers available for you to choose from.
- Your Home Share Coordinator: If we all agree that you will be accessing Home Share Services through Community Connections Support Services, you will meet your Home Share Coordinator soon after. Your Home Share Coordinator is the person you will see the most from Community Connections Support Services. This person lives in the same community you do or a community that is close by. You will see this person at least four times per year but you can call this person anytime you like if you want to talk about your Home Share or any concerns you may have. This person also makes sure that your Home Share Provider is doing their job to support you in the best way possible.
- Your Home Share Provider: This can be a person, a couple or a family. You will move into this person’s home and you will see this person every day. They will provide you with the support you need. It is important that this person has the skills they need to support you in the best way possible but it is also important that this person has a home and home life that is what you are looking for.
Your family and friends:
We think it’s a good idea to ask your family or friends to help you make some decisions about Home Share, if you want to. These are the people that know you the best and want good things for you and we want to make sure you have a chance to include them.
I am approved to get Home Share Services. Now what?
Usually, this means that you have already met with your CLBC Facilitator, and have been told that Home Share Services is an option for you to get the support you need. There are two different ways that you can get Home Share Services with Community Connections Support Services:
- CLBC will ask you to contact a few agencies, like ours, to see if our services are what you want. CLBC calls this “Individual and Family Preference” and has a guide that can be helpful for you to work through this process, including sample questions that you may want to ask us when we meet. You can access the guide here. If you choose us as the agency to find the best Home Share Provider for you, we will work with you to make sure it is a good fit. OR
- CLBC will contact our agency for you to ask about some options for you. When this happens, CLBC lets us know a bit about you so that we can see if we have the right person to provide the best support to you. If we do not have the right person available, CLBC will let you know and will help you to continue looking. If we do have some people that may be a good fit for you, we will contact you and start working with you to pick the best Home Share Provider for you.
How do I get the best Home Share Provider for me?
When we work with you to have the best Home Share Service for you, we call this ‘making a good match’. This means that we try to make sure that you and your Home Share Provider are well suited to live together and you can both get good results from your relationship together. The way we do this is by getting to know as much about you as we can. So we would like to know things like:
- Do you want to live with a family? A female or male person only? In town? In the country?
- What kinds of things do you need support with? Do you have any medical concerns that a Home Share Provider will need to help you with?
- Who are the important people in your life that you want to stay in touch with and see? How often would you like to see them? Do you need help to get to see them?
- What kinds of things do you want out of your life? What are your goals and interests?
- Do you need help with transportation? Do you work or go to school or do you spend much of your time at home and will you need your Home Share Provider to be at home with you?
- What kinds of things do you like to do?
We also need to know our Home Share Providers so that we can be sure we make a good ‘match’ for you. We ask our Home Share Providers things like:
- What kinds of skills do they have to offer someone who needs support?
- What kind of house do they have and who lives there besides them? Do they live in town or in the country?
- Are they at home most of the time or do they work outside the home?
- Can they provide transportation for you so that you can get to the places you need to go?
- What kinds of hobbies do they have and how do they spend their time off and time during holidays?
By getting to know you and getting to know a Home Share Provider, we can make sure that you are both able to get what you need from your Home Share relationship with one another.
Do I have my own private space that is comfortable for me and suits my needs?
Yes. There are all kinds of different Home Share Providers and homes, but every Home Share Provider must have a home that has a space for you that is all your own. That means, you will always have your own room or maybe your own suite with doors that you can shut, when you want to be alone or have some privacy. You will always be able to decorate your space the way you want to and have things in your own personal space that belong to you that are private.
We make sure that if you use a wheelchair or need a bathroom that has some things in it to help make bathing easier for you, that together, we choose a home and Home Share Provider that can make sure you get those things.
Will I still be able to see my family and friends, if I want to?
Of course. We make sure to ask you about all those people in your life that are important to you so we can make a plan with your Home Share Provider to make sure that they help you stay connected with your friends and family. If you want to, we think it’s a great idea if you ask your friends and family to help you make a decision about Home Share and help you move into your new home when it’s time.
Do I have to move in right away?
No. We will introduce you to the Home Share Provider and their family so that you have a chance to get to know them first. If you would like to try to stay at the Home Share Provider’s home for a couple of days before making a decision, we can help you do that too. That way, you can see what it might feel like to live there first before moving in. We help you move into your new home only after you and the Home Share Provider let us know that you both think you will be happy living together.
Sometimes, the place you are living in is not a safe or healthy place for you to be in or you simply are excited to move out and are ready for a change. When this happens, we can sometimes help you move into your new home faster. We need you to help us understand how quickly you would like to move.
So what happens when I move in?
Once you make a decision to move in, we make sure that your Home Share Provider has all the information they need to support you, including:
- A list of all of your personal belongings so we can make sure that they come with you.
- Phone numbers and email addresses for those people in your life that are important to you and you want to stay in touch with.
- Information about your medications, if you need help to take them.
- Information about what kinds of other support needs you may have.
- Contact information for any medical professionals that you see.
- Your personal schedule for things like work, school, clubs, sports or day program activities that you attend or belong to.
Your Home Share Provider will be there to help you move in and set up your new living space and we hope that your family will help too, if you want them there.
After you move in, your Home Share Coordinator will be sure to come by within a few weeks to make sure everything is going ok. Of course you can call your Home Share Coordinator sooner if there’s something you want to talk about.
How does Community Connections Support Services make sure that I’m going to be safe and get the support I need in my new home?
Before you were ever introduced to your Home Share Provider, Community Connections Support Services spent time with them to make sure that they have the skills and experience they need to provide you with safe and effective support. We did background checks, visited their home and asked a lot of questions to make sure that there wouldn’t be any concerns when you moved in.
Once you’ve moved in to your new home, your Home Share Coordinator will visit with you and your Home Share Provider regularly to make sure everything is going well. This is called monitoring. Monitoring can happen during a visit to your home, a phone call, a meeting or when your Home Share Coordinator asks for reports from your Home Share Provider. You can always talk to your Home Share Coordinator about how things are going for you. It is your Home Share Coordinator’s job to monitor your Home Share.
It is also your Home Share Coordinator’s job to make sure that you make plans for yourself to make sure that everyone who supports you, including your Home Share Provider, knows what you need and want in your life, like:
- staying healthy or talking to doctors, nurses, counselors about how to get healthier
- learning how to do new things
- working on being more independent
- spending time in your community
- spending time with people who are important to you
- joining clubs or groups that interest you
- making and keeping friends
- getting a job or going to school
- saving money for your future or to buy things you want
These are called your ‘goals’. Your goals are all about what you want in your life and it’s important that you are supported to pick your own goals and work at making them happen. Your Home Share Coordinator makes sure that you and your Home Share Provider work at making these plans with you.
What do I do if I am unhappy with my home and how things are going with my Home Share Provider?
If there are some changes that you would like to see happen in your home or your relationship with your Home Share Provider, it is best if you try talking to your Home Share Provider first. Remember, your Home Share Provider is there to make sure that you are getting what you need and working to get those things you want. Try talking to them about how you can both work together to make some changes that would make things better.
If you feel like you can’t talk to your Home Share Provider or you already tried and nothing got better, you can call your Home Share Coordinator. Your Home Share Coordinator is there to listen and make sure you are getting the support you need from your Home Share Provider, to live a full and happy life.
If you talk to your Home Share Coordinator and nothing gets better, you can call your Home Share Service Coordinator. Your Home Share Service Coordinator is the boss of your Home Share Coordinator and can help you to get what you need or connect you with other people who may be able to help you.
Sometimes, even though you try to work things out with your Home Share Provider, things don’t get better. Relationships can be complicated and sometimes they don’t work out. Sometimes the best thing to do is to end the relationship and move to a new home. Your Home Share Coordinator is there to help you make this decision and to help you move, if that is what you want. It’s important to let your Home Share Coordinator know when there is a problem and if you’d like to see about moving to another home with a new Home Share Provider. Your Home Share Coordinator will do their best to give you some options and help you make a plan.
