The Faces of Mosaic at Home
Over the last several months, Mosaic has been rolling out our newly branded host home model called Mosaic at Home. We’ve offered host homes for more than 20 years, but recently they have grown in popularity as people have discovered the many benefits.
Here’s the way we describe Mosaic at Home in our informational brochure: Services through the Mosaic at Home program build lasting relationships between people with intellectual disabilities and a provider contracted with Mosaic. Supports are designed around the specific needs and desires of each person. While sharing their home, the provider integrates the person served into the life of the household and the greater community.
I’ve had the opportunity to travel with a photographer and videographer to capture the life of Mosaic at Home. We’ve spent time in people’s homes. We’ve been to many places, places where people play and work in the community. The best part has been viewing the relationships – the trust, the joy, the friendship.
We have people who have lived with a provider for as long as 20 years. The overall average for Mosaic providers in almost four years. When people with disabilities have that type of consistency, they thrive.
We see dramatic improvements in people’s health, including weight loss and fewer needed medications. We see people learn new skills – in one case, someone who had never spoken now has a small, but growing vocabulary. We see more satisfying, strong relationships for people, both in their home and in their community.
I have met some great people, service providers who are making all of that possible. As with the many long-term Mosaic staff members we have who provide direct care, people who choose to be a Mosaic at Home provider often have a heart for serving others. The ability to provide service in their own home in a way that flows naturally with their life makes it even better.
Some of our Mosaic at Home providers are young people in their 20s and 30s who want to live a life of service. There are older people who, now as empty nesters, feel a void and know that serving others makes them happy. There are people across all ages who become host home providers just because they know they’re good at it and they can fill a need for someone else.
Our latest video is a photo montage of some of the people we serve through Mosaic at Home. Each one is living his or her own unique life with personalized services that fit their dreams and goals. Each one has a unique story to tell. And each one has someone who listens and cares.