Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA)

Home Services

The Home Services help you live safely and securely on your own and provide assistance with everyday household activities. These services include the following:

Emergency Response Systems
A service which provides an electronic device in a client’s home so that the client can communicate, in an emergency, with a centre staffed 24 hours a day that can summon help. [Top]

Home Help/Homemaking
A support service provided by trained personnel to assist with routine household activities such as light housekeeping, shopping and meal preparation. Homemaking services include: house cleaning, doing laundry, ironing, mending, shopping, banking, paying bills, planning menus, preparing meals, and caring for children. [Top]

Home Maintenance and Repair
A support service which provides or arranges for an individual worker or company to undertake a home maintenance and repair job. The job may be undertaken on a regular basis or may be undertaken occasionally or one time only. Generally the job is beyond the consumer’s capability to undertake or arrange by themselves. Examples of ongoing jobs include property maintenance such as snow shovelling, yard maintenance and outside window washing. One time jobs include helping the consumer to arrange home repairs and renovations such as decorating, plumbing, electrical, new furnaces, roofs, masonry repairs and structural modifications for personal safety, free access and quality of life. [Top]

Intervention and Assistance Services
A support service which provides intervention and assistance to vulnerable adults and at-risk seniors and persons with physical disabilities and/or their caregivers. Clients include abused, unmotivated, alienated persons and those unserved by other agencies and resources. The goal of the service is to provide support and crisis intervention in critical situations, stabilize and put a plan in place for the longer term. A worker is assigned to assist clients in coping with everyday tasks of living in the community, using a case management model. Examples of clients services include: problem identification, referral and services coordination, assistance in filling out forms, making application for various services and programs, advice on nutrition, budgeting, household management, and long-term institutional placement, making moving and funeral arrangement. [Top]

Life Skills Services (Disabled)
The Life Skills Service is a support service provided in addition to what can be provided as part of the Personal Support Service and Attendant Service. The service teaches the activities of daily living and the necessary skills to increase personal independence through working with clients and family members, as appropriate. This service includes clients living in supportive housing with families as well as those living in institutions and being prepared for living arrangements in the community. The following skills may be taught: physical development and health, sensory-motor development, communications and social skills, emotional and spiritual development, independent living skills and recreation and leisure skills. [Top]

Security Checks or Reassurance Service
A support service designed to provide isolated persons with regular contact to reassure them that help is available if and when needed. This service may be provided by a person visiting the home, by telephone or other means. Security visits or reassurance visits to the home will generally be on a one time or infrequent basis as part of a general security and safety program. A general security activity would include a short daily telephone call of less than 5 minutes that checks to health and safety of the consumer. [Top]

Helping People Live at Home

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