VRS resident Alison Canning thanks the Independent Contractors & Businesses Association of B.C. for her new kitchen, one of several projects ICBA has done for VRS. Thank you ICBA, for your wonderful ongoing support.
ICBA web site: www.icba.bc.ca

Independent Shared Living

This program provides accessible housing with support services to approximately 85 adults living in Vancouver and Burnaby. All locations have daily staffing and are supported with access to a registered nurse.

Three to five residents live in each house and have the responsibility of organizing and running the households as well as hiring staff. This is additional to their daily routines and activities.




VRS acts as a resource for the tenants on issues relating to personal needs, staffing models, maintenance of the home, etc.

Beyond daily care needs, the individuals in the shared living program lead totally independent lives.

The independent living model that is in great demand by our consumer group is integrated apartment living. In this model, our residents have the opportunity to live in their own apartment in a complex occupied by members of the community at large.

The people we serve are not interested in being segregated into large projects built specifically for people with disabilities; they want to live as independently as possible in their own communities.

Currently, Blair Court, Bloomsfield Gardens and Kelly Court are the three apartments in our system, serving a total of 40 residents. As with all VRS housing programs, attendant care services are available around the clock. The model is achieved by having the residents pool their allotted care requirements to provide attendant coverage on a 24-hour basis. Whenever an individual needs assistance in their daily lives, it is easy to access.

The apartment program is the most progressive of our independent living models and also the most difficult to develop. Vancouver Resource Society is working diligently with all levels of government and the private sector to expand upon this program.

If you would like to participate in our subsidized housing programs, please fill in our application form here.