With the holiday season in full swing, many of us are getting excited to open our homes up to friends or family.
Last Christmas felt really sad. My daughter and I celebrated alone in our home, trying to be as festive as we could. Usually, we go to our close friends’ home and celebrate with their extended family. It’s my favourite part of the holidays.
I know this Christmas may still not look like a pre-pandemic celebration, but I have extreme gratitude that I can be with others.
As we become open to sharing our homes with loved ones for the holidays, it reminded me of the many people who depend on others opening their homes for more than a festive meal.
For some people, having a stranger open their home can change their life.
I spoke with Corey Krahn of Community Living Victoria about home-share programs that help individuals with developmental disabilities gain independence. Krahn is a member of an interagency home-share co-ordinators committee, where local agencies work to find home-share options for individuals with a disability in need of home share.
“Up until the 1980s, our clients would have been institutionalized,” said Krahn, explaining that there are folks who are able to live semi-independently with some support. “We work towards community integration, and that offers a vast improvement on quality of life.”
Home share is a program open to adults with disabilities. They may choose it because their parents are aging and unable to care for them, or they are seeking independence and want to see what the experience of leaving the nest is like.
Home-share providers give them a chance to do that while providing supports that significantly enhance the likelihood of a positive outcome.
In home-share programs, participants offer space in their homes, whether it’s a bedroom or a suite, and a variety of supports, such as meal preparation, depending on the needs of the client.
“Some people just need to be checked in on, or help budgeting,” said Krahn.
Home-share providers are compensated both for providing space in their homes and for their time, but the daily efforts required reinforce that people are doing this for greater reasons. It can take several months before a potential home-share provider is accepted due to a thorough process to ensure the safety and success of all parties. Clients are placed in homes that are safe, suitable and supportive.
It takes a special type of person to become a home-share provider, and with the pandemic and the closing of our homes to friend and families, the number of willing people has dropped.
The agencies that co-ordinate home share have worked hard to ensure that all the public-health requirements have been met, and are working with providers and clients to ensure everyone is safe and supported.
I know that becoming a home-share provider is not for everyone, and I write this hoping to highlight a need in our community. If you are planning to invite friends and family into your home this holiday season, and pre-pandemic you would have considered being a home-share provider, maybe it’s OK to consider it now.
For the rest of us, I think it’s important to tip our hats to those who have opened their homes during the pandemic and are supporting vulnerable community members to ensure a better quality of life.
Thank you!
