Better at Home is designed to assist older adults living in the West End and Coal Harbour neighbourhoods of Vancouver with simple, day-to-day non-medical tasks so that they can continue to live as independently as possible in their own homes.
Better at Home is funded by the Government of B.C. and managed by the United Way of the Lower Mainland.
Eligibility
You may be eligible if you are an adult 55 years of age or older living in the West End or Coal Harbour neighbourhoods of Vancouver (west of Burrard Street to Stanley Park) and need assistance to complete day-to-day tasks safely and effectively.
For a map of the geographic boundaries of other Better at Home service areas, please click here.
Services
Transportation to and from Medical Appointments
- Volunteers help clients get safely to and from medical appointments in the Greater Vancouver area by:
- Driving
- Travelling in a taxi
- Travelling on public transit such as city buses, SkyTrain or HandyDART
- Walking.
- Clients are responsible for parking fees and taxi fares.
- This service is provided by donation.
Minor Home Repairs
- Volunteers assist with basic home repairs such as replacing light bulbs, fixing leaks, assembling furniture, etc.
- Volunteers will not do any work that would require a tradesperson or anything deemed to be unsafe.
- The maximum length of an appointment is two hours.
- This service is provided by donation, and clients are responsible for providing all necessary tools and supplies if possible.
Light Housekeeping
- This service can include laundry, vacuuming, dusting, cleaning the bathroom, etc.
- Offered on a sliding scale determined by your annual household income (Line 150 on Canada Revenue Agency income tax assessment).
| Fee Category | Annual Income (Single) | Annual Income (Household) | Subsidy Level | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Below $18,021 | Below $27,461 | 100% | $0.00
Donations accepted |
| B | $18,022 – $25,847 | $27,462 – $46,108 | 70% | $10.00 |
| C1 | $25,848 – $33,673 | $46,109 – $64,754 | 50% | $15.00 |
| C2 | $33,674 – $41,499 | $64,755 – $83,399 | 30% | $20.00 |
| D | Over $41,500 | Over $83,400 | 0% | $25.00 |
- Up to four hours of service is provided at a subsidized rate every four weeks. Additional hours of service can be purchased at the full rate.
- Clients are invoiced monthly by the West End Seniors’ Network. Payment options include cash, cheque and e-transfer.
- Please note that there is currently a waitlist for subsidized light housekeeping services.
All fees and donations collected for Better at Home services help ensure we can offer a sustainable program which serves as many clients as possible in the West End and Coal Harbour.
For more information, please contact the Community Services Coordinator at betterathome@wesn.ca or 604-669-5051.
NOTE: Due to staff transition, we are temporarily not processing light housekeeping referrals at this time. Thank you very much for your patience.
To download a client registration form, please click here. To download this form, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you don’t have this program, you can get it here: http://www.adobe.com/
Last Updated: 09-Jan-2020