Vodec is growing its services in Cass County, Iowa, and is looking for families interested in becoming a host home provider.
Host homes provide training and support for people with developmental or intellectual disabilities in a single-family home setting, said Jade Donovan, Vodec’s Western Iowa residential services manager. They help individuals develop the skills necessary for daily living, including:
- Personal grooming and cleanliness
- Bed making and household chores
- Eating and the preparation of food
- Community inclusion
- Transportation
- Social and leisure skills
Although host homes aren’t new, their numbers have grown tremendously in recent years due to successful outcomes for both parties involved. Host home providers can be single, a couple or a family with children. The 24-7 seven-days-a-week care environment gives both provider and consumer consistency in terms of boundaries and expectations. For many a host home provider, their consumer becomes an extended part of their family, Donovan said.
For more information about becoming a host home provider, email jdonovan@vodec.org, or call 712.328.2638.
Vodec, founded in 1968, provides day, employment and residential services for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities in Iowa and Nebraska. It operates development centers in Council Bluffs and Urbandale, Iowa, and Omaha, Neb.