In-Home Supports

Designed in Partnership with the Government of Ontario, You at Home provides support to individuals in their family homes, with a schedule that is co-designed with persons supported and their families. You at Home pairs people supported with PHSS staff for a minimum of three hours a day, and has the flexibility to also support individuals in the community; significantly enhancing quality of life options.

24/7 Residential Supports

PHSS offers comprehensive supports in locations throughout Ontario, which include:

• Home and Personal Care
• Life Skills and Family Support
• Access to Health Professionals
• Transportation
• Communication
• Recreation & Leisure
• Education and Employment
• Community and Social Activities

PHSS realizes people with disabilities have special needs when it comes to their home environment. At PHSS, we make each house accessible for those who live there to make life as accessible and independent as possible. Modifications may include:

• Installing ramps, raised bathtubs, and/or walk-in showers;
• Adjusting the kitchen sink height so it can be reached from a sitting position;
• Widening hallways to accommodate an electric wheelchair;
• Installing ceiling lifts and tracks to transfer people from a wheelchair to a comfortable chair or bed in a safe and easy manner

Specialized Support Programs

• Specialized programs are available for persons with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), complex medical, children’s services, behavioural supports and supports for people requiring long-term ventilation (LTV)
• People who are medically fragile and/or technologically dependent, including those requiring LTV, who were confined to an Intensive Care Unit but are sufficiently medically stable are now living in the community receiving complex care supports and finding a significant improvement in their quality of life.

Day Supports

Designed to empower individuals to get involved in the community, PHSS day supports specialize in providing services for individuals who are medically fragile or technology dependent; including those who are ventilator dependent. These supports are most valuable to individuals who live at home with their families, who no longer receive educational support and who aren’t eligible for supports through other community programs. Individuals may be referred in their final year of K-12 schooling.

Community Place West

Community Place West is funded by Ontario Health and is supported by a team of highly skilled and knowledgeable staff who assist with supporting an individual’s personal, nutritional and social needs throughout the day.

Community Place North

Community Place North is funded by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS). It’s a place where shared supports are designed to meet the individual needs of young adults living at home with their families, who have complex and significant physical and developmental disabilities and no longer receive educational support.

Both day support locations are in the City of London. Referrals to Community Place West must be completed by a Care Coordinator from Home and Community Care Support Services (HCCSS). For both Community Place West and Community Place North, an application form must also be submitted to PHSS. The next step is an intake interview, following which program eligibility will be determined. For information on day support applications, please click here.

Overnight Respite

Available to people over 18 years of age who reside in the City of London, and Middlesex, Huron Perth, Oxford, and Elgin counties who are considered medically fragile and have needs defined as “complex care”. Examples include, but not limited to, ventilators, enteral nutrition support (G or J Tube) and continuous oxygen. Individuals stay in overnight respite for a period of time up to 2 weeks depending on the needs of the family and the availability of the respite site.

Family Resource / Passport Funding

This community-based staff resource is available to individuals with disabilities and their families with individualized or direct funding MCCSS, the Ministry of Health or private sources. These supports are also available to families waiting for service and to family groups. Support and assistance can be time-limited to address a specific need or request, or it can be flexible and on-going. It involves direct support as well as assistance to families in managing their individualized funding.

The PHSS Family Resource Lead can:

• Create individualized job postings to family’s specifications, circulate openings internally to PHSS staff and on our website, distribute to other agencies and post on the Fanshawe College website free of charge;
• Assist families with interviewing and creating contracts between their family and support workers or support agencies, to clarify the roles and responsibilities of each party;
• Provide support to new support workers during the initial stages of a placement and on-going support to find help find meaningful activities for supported individuals in the community.