In 1987, the community organizer at CLSC le Moulin in the Maintien à domicile team was tasked with designing and organizing resources to meet the needs of frail elderly people. In Ontario, a social work trainee researching new forms of home support identified a shared housing formula. To our knowledge, it was the only twinning resource in the country, in the cities of Ottawa, Kitchener and other populous towns in southern Ontario. Following a visit to Ottawa’s Home Sharing, the concept of two people, one over 55, living together under the same roof was born in the Outaouais.

A few months later, the Habitations Partagées de l’Outaouais Urban Implementation Committee was formed, and was working to find the financial resources to develop the organization, while preparing its application for incorporation. Towards the end of 1987, the implementation committee began its activities with the help of volunteers and a part-time employee. These people recruited outfitters and researchers, and developed interviewing tools based on what had been developed in Ottawa.

The organization was chartered on January 5, 1988. The first matches were made in February 1988. A grant application was submitted to the Secrétariat des aînés for the project of an accompaniment service for seniors looking for a new home or residential accommodation in the Outaouais region. In 2006, the accompaniment service project was launched thanks to this funding. In 2007, the Habitations partagées de l’Outaouais team had the idea of setting up a day just for seniors. Our goal was to inform seniors about the services available in the Outaouais region. This day has become a tradition year after year. Since 2013, we have put in place a strategic plan that has enabled us to establish our place as a provider of home support services to improve the quality of life for both seniors and adults through cohabitation by offering the alignment of needs of the new aging clientele.

In 2015-16, we began to take our place as a homecare partner. In addition, we began the implementation phase of a new service within our organization through the “Les bons compagnons” project, which will enable us to be responsive to the needs of the aging population. During 2016-17, we continued to implement the innovative new “Les bons compagnons” project, which aims to help seniors who need to move to an environment better suited to their needs. This resource will help them through this difficult stage in their lives, when they have no one to turn to for support (family and friends). This new service looks set to ensure the survival of the organization and its raison d’être.

In September 2017, we adopted the strategic plan for the next three years (2017- 2020), which will be a working tool for both the development committee and board members and staff to monitor the proposed actions so that housing plays a leading role in supporting the aging population. In addition, March 2018 saw the end of the Bons Compagnons project funded by the Ministère de la famille as part of the Québec Amis des aînés (QADA) program. This is well established in the urban sector. We have taken the necessary steps to ensure its sustainable takeover through a reorganization of the staff already in place.