About Group Homes in Richmond
Group homes offer an important service to their residents because they provide short and long-term living arrangements, affordable and safe housing, skills training, peer support and counselling, and simply an opportunity for people in need to live independently. Group homes make it possible for residents to live within their community.
Richmond's History with Group Homes
The City of Richmond has a tradition of inclusiveness and has always looked for ways to support those with special needs within the community. With the advent of de-institutionalization - the philosophy of housing persons needing specialized care in smaller, home-like settings in their communities rather than in large institutions - Richmond has received requests from organizations and private operators to establish group homes in the community.
In 1988, there were nine group homes in the community. In the early 1990s there was a large increase in the number of group homes in Richmond as a result of the downsizing of institutions such as Woodlands and Riverview. Today there are 30 group homes in Richmond, a number which has been relatively stable over the last 10 years.
Current City of Richmond Policies for Group HomesOnce an agency, or person, has applied for a Provincial Community Care Facility License to operate a group home, the next step is to ensure compliance with City policies related to building safety, zoning and neighbourhood notification and information.
The City policy for Residential Care Facilities (seven to ten persons in care) has recently changed, as a result of recommendations from the City's Group Home Task Force. The Task Force was formed by Council resolution in March 2001, and met 26 times over a six-month period. The Task Force process included information gathering, formal meetings open to the public, the development of a publication to help inform Richmond citizens about group homes, and public consultation meetings to gather input from the community. In October 2001, the Task Force submitted its final report and recommendations to Council.
On May 27th, 2002, Richmond Council endorsed the City policies for licensed and unlicensed group homes.
