Home Share & Host Agency

Home sharing enables adults with diverse abilities to choose an environment that addresses their specific needs and desires. Individuals might live with a family, roommate, couple, or in their own suite within a family home.

Individuals choose home share because it provides an ideal balance of support and independence. It is entirely person centred allowing individuals to select a home share provider and home environment that suits them best. Support is flexible and evolves according to the individual’s changing needs. For some, home share is a stepping-stone to even greater independence. For others, it is an arrangement that will last for many years. An Individual may already have a specific home share provider in mind or they may ask for assistance to them to find a match, someone who best supports their needs and lifestyle preferences.

Eligibility for Home Share with ILHS is determined by Community Living British Columbia (CLBC)

Home Share Providers

“Being a home share provider is not a job…..it is a chosen lifestyle.”

Home share providers open their homes to an individual and share the commitment of community living. They come from a range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds and represent a variety of family structures.

ILHS is committed to finding the best match possible. The individual is able to choose a care provider who best suits their support needs and lifestyle preferences. All home share providers undergo an extensive home study process. Only those who are committed to an inclusive community and fostering a true home environment will be considered.

Home Share Coordinators complete a rigorous and in depth assessment prior to approving any home share provider. Approval does not necessarily guarantee that a contract will be given. Contracts will be established when the individual, his/her family, or support network members decides it is a good match.

The first step is completing an application that enables people to identify their home and family life, the type of person they envision supporting, and why they want to be a home share provider. The timeline prior to the next step, the home study, then varies based on the needs of people waiting for service, and the skill set and experience of the applicant, along with their location, space, etc. The more likely we are to have a suitable match, the sooner the home study process begins. A home study may not be completed unless a potential match has been identified.

The home study is a lengthy interview that gathers information in order to understand the home share applicant’s current situation and the degree of care the applicant is able to provide. From there documents like criminal record checks on every person over the age of 19 who reside in the home; medical clearance note from a physician; health and safety checklist of the home; drivers abstract; first aid certificate and references must be obtained.

If you are interested in becoming a home share provider you can request an Application for Home Share Providers. For more information, please contact Kelly Van Gylswyk at kelly@ilhs.ca

Host Agency

Individualized Funding (IF) empowers Individuals to choose activities and live in their communities in the way that makes them happy. IF supports Individuals to use money allocated to them by CLBC to create new, innovative service options and to make individual choices about how the supports and services they require are provided.

The Individual supported, or the person supporting them (the agent), hire people directly or the Individual may work with a Host Agency that will help choose and hire people to support them. The Individual supported, their agent, or the Host Agency must be the employer of or contract with the people who provide the direct support.  Service types may include 1 to 1 community inclusion and respite/relief within private homes.

A Host Agency is an agency approved by CLBC that is selected to administer the money allocated by CLBC. The Host Agency works with the Individual to arrange and manage the supports required. This option gives the benefits of Individualized Funding, but with less responsibility for paperwork, record-keeping and the administrative task of being the Employer of Record.

At ILHS we work in partnership with Individuals supported and their agent to create the support they desire to thrive and live life to the fullest.

Referrals are made by CLBC and funding is dependent on service type allocated by CLBC.