Housing Options for Dependent Elders​

​Independent Living

Most elderly people want to remain as self-reliant as possible for as long as possible. The downside to this desirable goal is that caring for an elderly person who wishes to remain at home, rather than moving to a care facility, can eventually create immense challenges. Below you'll find two useful guides for enhancing senior safety in the home.

Maintaining Seniors' Independence Through Home Adaptations: A  Self-Assessment Guide
This excellent 32-page guide from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation identifies renovations that can help overcome difficulties associated with aging.  
The Safety Living Guide - A Guide to Home Safety for Seniors
This 38-page guide from Public Health Agency of Canada gives practical tips and recommendations that can help seniors live comfortably and safely in their own home for many years to come.

Caring for a Family Member in Your Home

In some cultures and traditions, elderly family members continue to live with their adult children all of their lives. In today's fast-paced world, with our values around autonomy and focus on careers, this trend is rapidly diminishing. Some people have 'in-law suites' or 'granny flats' (separate apartments attached to their homes), and these may be a good option for an elder who is unable to live alone, but many families find inter-generational living very challenging under any circumstance. The options need to be discussed honestly by everyone involved.

Semi-independent Living   

This option allows the elderly to live at home by using services to help them with homemaking, personal care, meals and shopping. 

Seniors' Retirement Housing 

There is a wide range of housing types designed and developed for seniors, from suburban single-family developments, to urban condos and apartment complexes, from mobile home parks to subsidized municipal housing projects for low-income elderly. These are sometimes available at a subsidized or affordable rate, and usually offer some community support and group activities. Such a minimal level of support will be adequate if the main problem involves safety, loneliness, boredom, or transportation difficulties. 

More recently, housing is being designed to accommodate differing levels of care in the same facility, so that seniors do not need to be completely uprooted, or separated from a partner or friend, as their needs change.  Such arrangements do simplify the situation considerably and may eliminate the need to consider the following:

Assisted Living and Continuing Care Facilities

Assisted living facilities offer specialized services by providing staff around the clock to help residents with various types of personal care, social activities, and general supervision. The facility also provides both structured and unstructured activities, opportunities to interact socially with peers, meals three times a day, laundry and housekeeping services.
Continuing care facilities usually offer a more complete spectrum of health care options, from total independence to total care in an on-site skilled nursing unit.

Long Term Care and Nursing Homes 

These provide full-time residential care for those people who are no longer able to live independently, even with a wide variety of resources. A Ministry of Health case manager or social work will help you to make the difficult decision as to whether this level of care is necessary, then to choose an appropriate residence for your loved one, and to make the transition.

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