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If the issues facing your relative are largely due to physical limitations and not loss of mental capacity, you might consider assisting your relative to continue to live in his or her own home, if he or she so wishes. This may be possible if you can make arrangements for appropriate in-home support.

The move to a senior’s residence or long-term care facility can in itself trigger the need for a guardianship order because it removes an elderly person from familiar surroundings and an existing support system. Helping your relative live at home longer could prevent, or at least postpone, the need to apply to the court for a guardianship order.

The test for whether or not an elderly relative can and should be assisted with living in his or her own home with support is, of course, whether staying at home is in the best interests of that elderly relative. Continuing to live in his or her own home could be in the best interests of an elderly person who does not wish to move away from an area that includes his or her friends, place of worship, children, or convenient services. Removing a person in this situation from his or her home would in effect deprive this person of friends, social network, or ability to attend church. This tends to add to loneliness, isolation, and unhappiness for older people.

Many older individuals also have a strong sentimental attachment to the home in which they lived their married lives and raised their children and do not want to leave their homes until it becomes absolutely necessary to do so. The emotional impact of leaving the home should be taken into consideration if at all possible.

Prospective guardians should respect the dependent adult’s wish to remain at home as long as it is feasible to do so. This wish to remain in the home must be balanced against practical concerns such as safety, mobility, nutrition, and hygiene.

In most large- and mid-sized communities in Canada, you will be able to arrange for nurses or nursing aides to come into the dependent adult’s home on a regular basis. Nurses can assist your elderly relative with taking medication or giving injections, or with specialized medical needs such as foot care for diabetics or physical therapy. Aides may provide help with bathing, personal grooming, and transfer from bed to wheelchair. In small communities you may not have access to trained personnel and private service companies as easily as you would in a large city. However, you may find there is more support from family, friends, and neighbours who live nearby and who are willing to take on some of these tasks.

Other valuable in-home resources are companies, organizations, or individuals that will —

• bring nutritious, prepared meals to the dependent adult’s home;

• do housecleaning on a regular or occasional basis;

• transport senior citizens to appointments;

• shovel snow and clear walkways;

• rake leaves and mow grass;

• walk the dependent adult’s dog;

• do small repairs and handyman jobs;

• deliver groceries; and

• deliver prescriptions.

Another factor that will likely be part of your evaluation of whether remaining in the home is in the best interest of your elderly relative is the cost of these services. Seniors may find that living on a fixed income does not allow for the payment for these services. If you are exploring this option, be sure to contact federal and provincial government agencies to ensure that you are aware of all funding and benefits that are available.

Another good idea is to make sure that your elderly relative has a cellular telephone and that he or she has it when away from home. It can be invaluable in emergency situations. If remembering telephone numbers is a problem, program them into the telephone’s memory and show your relative how to access the telephone directory or speed-dial feature on the phone.

If you are looking into support services that will allow your relative to stay in his or her home, you might also consider whether renovations need to be made to the home for the safety and convenience of your relative. For example, you may need to have a wheelchair ramp built, grab-bars installed in the bathroom, or area rugs replaced by carpeting. Some provinces have government subsidies for this kind of renovation. Many of the suggestions in this section will also apply if you are considering moving your elderly relative into your own family home.