Providence Living: Home For Us

A new Conconi Challenge is on! We have partnered with St. Paul’s Foundation and will match donations up to $1.5M to support the expansion of Canada’s first publicly funded long-term care village. Help us scale to more locations across the province. 

Providence Living at The Views, located in Comox, B.C., is Canada’s first publicly funded, non-profit long-term care village inspired by the Dutch De Hogeweyk dementia village. Since opening in July 2024, it has been showing a new way forward for long-term care, moving beyond the traditional, task-oriented, institutional model to a social relational approach.

At the heart of this change is the Home For Us Model of care, a new social relational approach that puts residents’ autonomy, routines, and preferences at the centre of daily life. Every day begins and ends on the residents’ terms. Each of the 13 households has its own kitchen and outdoor spaces, so residents can wake up when they like, pour a cup of coffee or tea, and take a stroll through the courtyard or sit and enjoy the sun on their balcony. 

Providence Living is now taking this model of care beyond a single location in Comox, B.C. They’re hoping to scale across the province, and we’re excited to help make this possible.

 Join us in reimagining publicly funded long-term care. Double your impact by donating today.

Conconi Challenge: Donate Now

Your Donor Invitation

Reimagine long-term care as a place to live, not just receive care. Shifting from institutional, hospital-like settings to a small household model, with village amenities that feel welcoming and familiar.

Redefine how care is delivered, introducing new staffing roles and team-based approaches that reflect residents’ needs and make person-centred care the standard.

Transform the culture of care, shift from checklists and tasks to a social-relational approach that blends health, social, and emotional support.

Support resident-driven days, ensuring older adults are in control of their day, when they wake up, what they eat, and the activities they engage in.

Built with scale in mind, this model is evaluated in real-time, supporting continuous learning and adjustments as the needs and profiles of residents change.

Residents live in 12-person households, each with a private bedroom and bathroom. Every household also includes a dining room, living room, kitchen, and balcony, offering spaces to cook, share meals, and relax with friends. The village is designed to feel like a small community, with everyday amenities like a grocery store, bistro, art studio, and hairdresser, helping residents stay engaged in the routines of daily life.

Trying something new is like charting unknown territory, you know where you want to get to but not necessarily what road to take to get there. That’s why Providence Living has teamed up with the Senior Care Research Team at the Centre for Advancing Health Outcomes. Together, they’re carrying out a developmental evaluation, looking at what life and work were like in the old environment and model of care, and comparing it to the new village and Home for Us approach. By tracking progress and impact in near real-time, the team can make adjustments based on the experiences of staff and residents. This guidance helps ensure the model works well and creates a roadmap for introducing this new model of long-term care in other contexts. The Conconi Family Foundation provided anchor funding to support the rollout of the evaluation. 

It takes a village, and we’re incredibly grateful to the many partners, including  Providence Living, St. Paul’s Foundation, the Centre for Advancing Health Outcomes, Comox Valley Healthcare Foundation, Eldercare Foundation, and other philanthropic supporters, who have come together to bring Providence Living at The Views to life.

Now, we’re looking to expand this model to other sites across B.C. We’ve activated a Conconi Challenge in hopes that other like-minded donors will join us.

Help us reimagine publicly funded long-term care. BC Seniors deserve the best. Donate today & double your impact. 

Conconi Challenge: Donate Now

Providence Living at The Views: Interview with Residents and Families

Hear firsthand how the shift to a resident-driven, social-relational model of long-term care impacts residents and families.

Tara Muir

Meet Tara, she owns and runs the Revocco Coffee Shop at Providence Living at The Views. A trained Red Seal chef, she was previously in charge of High Tea at the Empress in Victoria before becoming a Care Aide at The Views. Today, she brings those two worlds together, preparing delicious treats for residents, visitors, and staff at her Cafe.

Watch More

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I or a loved one move into a Providence Living Village?

All Providence Living care villages are publicly funded. Access to a home is coordinated through your local Health Authority's long-term care assessment process. Providence Living currently operates in the Vancouver Island Health Authority and the Vancouver Coastal Health region. New sites are also being developed in Vancouver Coastal Health and within the Northern Health Authority region.

If you or a loved one are ready to take this step, please connect with your primary health care team or local Home and Community Care office for guidance. You can learn more about accessing long-term care in BC at: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/accessing-health-care/home-community-care/care-options-and-cost/long-term-care-services

How much does it cost to live at a Providence Living Village?

All Providence Living care villages are non-profit and publicly subsidized, meaning access and costs are entirely based on need. Resident fees are standardized and determined by your income, based on eligibility criteria set by the BC Ministry of Health. For details on how rates are calculated, please review the BC Government's guide on long-term care costs: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/accessing-health-care/home-community-care/care-options-and-cost/long-term-care-services

Where can I find a Providence Living care home?

Providence Living operates and is developing communities across British Columbia:

Current Communities:
- Vancouver (Central City Lodge, Cooper Place)
- Comox Valley, Vancouver Island (The Views - Canada's
first long-term care village)

Villages in Development:
- Vancouver (St. Vincent Heather, opening 2028)
- Prince George (The Rivers, opening 2028)
- Quesnel (Name TBA, planned to open 2028)
- Smithers (Name TBA, planned to open 2030)

What is the Home For Us Model of care?

Jointly created by Providence Living and Providence Health Care, the Home For Us model of care is a social-relational approach to long-term care. Informed by global best practices, including guidance from Be Advice (the founders of the world-renowned Hogeweyk Dementia Village in the Netherlands).

Moving beyond traditional task-oriented care, Home For Us prioritizes meaningful relationships, resident choice and autonomy, supporting older adults to live with dignity and independence. You can learn more about the Home For Us pillars and daily life here: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://providenceliving.ca/innovation/home-for-us/&source=gmail&ust=1791398485261000&usg=AOvVaw3Z-UOmIeqvJFm_Sjb97j-P

How do you know the Home For Us model of care is making a difference?

Home For Us is the first model of its kind to be implemented in a publicly funded long-term care setting in Canada. To better understand its impact, Providence Living has partnered with the Centre for Advancing Health Outcomes to monitor implementation and conduct a developmental evaluation in near real time.

This approach ensures the experiences of residents, families, and staff are continuously incorporated, supporting the model to adapt to the realities of day-to-day care while remaining responsive to the evolving needs and preferences of older adults.

Through ongoing engagement with residents and staff, the evaluation team is exploring how Home For Us is influencing quality of life, relationships, and the overall care experience. These insights help strengthen the model and build evidence on its impact on residents, families and care teams.

I have questions about Providence Living, who should I contact?

For any questions related to Providence Living, you can contact newbuild@providenceliving.ca

I'm interested in supporting Providence Living, how do I donate?

You can help support the growth of Home For Us and bring it to more Providence Living communities by making a donation through St. Paul Foundation.

https://helpstpauls.com/why-give/long-term-care/?form=homeforus&utm_source=conconi_donate&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=providence_living

Your donation helps improve the quality of life for those who live, work, and visit long-term care. The funds are directed to a range of items, including the model's evaluation, the creation of necessary roles, training, and activities that support the residents.

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