What is Home Share?

Home Share describes a type of living arrangement for people with a developmental disability. Each Home Share situation is unique. Some examples are:
• An adult may own their own home. The Home share provider may live in that home to provide support.
• The Home Share provider invites an adult to move into the family home.
• The Home Share provider invites an adult to live in a self contained suite that exists within the home
• The adult and the Home Share provider jointly rent an apartment or a house.
 

No matter what the Home Share situation looks like, the Home Share provider agrees to provide support and assistance to the person that is sharing the home.

How do I get paid?

The Home Share Contractor bills TDCSS every month for the service they have provided. The monthly payment Home Share providers is non taxable income (Federal or Provincial Income Tax) provided the Contractor follows the protocol described in the CLBC and TDCSS Home Share Handbooks.

The payment amount is determined by the amount of support the individual wants or needs.

How do I get a break?

Your contract includes funds to purchase a minimum of 2 days of Respite per month.

If the person sharing your home currently participates in one of the community programs at TDCSS Community Living, they will continue to do so.

What kind of support might I be expected to provide?
• assisting with life skills (banking, shopping, meal preparing, laundry)

• assisting with health issues (accompanying an individual to medical appointments, monitoring medication, choosing healthy meals).

• supporting community inclusion (going to concerts, joining a gym, supporting the individual to attend college, take the bus, go to the library).

• supporting individuals to maintain, develop or strengthen their relationships with families and friends (joining friends for coffee or going to a movie; learning communication skills and how to read body language).

• supporting people to be safe in their home and community (practicing how to react if there is a fire, how to cross the street safely, how to say “NO”, how to recognize and know what to do in unsafe situations

• assisting with personal care (assisting with or reminding the individual to wash hair, take care of nails, brush teeth, change clothing

The TDCSS Home Share Coordinator plays an important role in supporting each placement:

• Assist with accessing training opportunities
• Referral to professional support and community resources (psychological, psychiatric, therapists, etc)
• 24 hour crisis response
• Problem solving
• Most importantly being there for you in a meaningful way

How do I become a Home Share provider?

• You must be 19
• You need to complete a Preliminary Home Share Application to start the process
• Provide references
• Participate in a Home Study
• Complete all necessary paperwork
• Be willing and able to share your life, learn from and with the person you are supporting
• And most of all have fun.

For more information refer the Home Share Handbook on this website or go to http://www.communitylivingbc.ca/ and click the “What we do” tab and select Home Sharing