What We Do
Redefining the Possibilities of Independent Living
At Desired Living, we provide a supportive and secure environment where individuals with special needs can thrive independently.
The Desired Living Difference
If you have looked into Ontario living environments for people with special needs, you may know that they don’t offer optimal living situations.
- Some organizations provide support services for people with special needs but rely on families to arrange a living situation.
- Some provide housing but rely on families to arrange their support services, while others provide limited support services but no authentic independent living and little guarantee of community connection.
- Still, others may not represent a viable long-term living situation. Though support organizations for people with special needs have called upon governments to address and facilitate supportive and accessible living environments that support independent living and community connection better, little is being done.
Desired Living Is a Vision of a Better Living Opportunity
As a non-profit living environment, Desired Living will be a vibrant community of residents with special needs who will have the option of living in supported independence in their own one-, two-, or three-bedroom units, each with their own living room space and kitchenette.
Desired Living offers 24/7 on-site security staff, ensuring residents and their families have peace of mind in a safe environment. It will also be a place of community and connection, where all residents enjoy access to shared common areas and amenities, including:
- A four-season arboretum with waterfalls, streams, and plenty of room for walking so all residents can easily stay connected to nature and have fun outdoors.
- A greenhouse is where residents can grow their plants regardless of season.
- A dining room where residents can enjoy delicious meals our kitchen staff prepares.
- A café where residents can socialize and enjoy their favourite snacks and beverages.
- There are large family rooms for residents and their families to gather, and if meal service is needed, our kitchen staff is happy to provide it, typically at a nominal cost.
All Amenities Will Be Fully Accessible
To ensure all residents and their families can easily access shared spaces, all amenities at Desired Living will be located on the ground level with full wheelchair accessibility. But that’s just the beginning of what sets Desired Living apart.
Fresh Foods Reflect Our Commitment to Health and Wellness
Our commitment to providing residents with fresh foods reflects our overall commitment to our residents’ health, wellness, and happiness.
Most of the food supplied to Desired Living will eventually come from local farms and greenhouses. Supplementing this, Desired Living will supply food from its on-site greenhouses. All of this will combine to support healthier eating and the residents’ knowing that they’re helping to support local agriculture. Plus, locally sourced food reduces the community’s carbon footprint and secures against possible supply chain interruptions. Yet, to fully ensure the needs of all residents are met, foods will be brought in when local options aren’t available.
When residents want to do grocery or other shopping, regular trips will be scheduled to nearby stores.
Green Technologies and Self-Sufficiency Are Baked into Our Design
Green technologies like solar power, biodigesters, mirror refractors, geothermal heating, and others built into Desired Living not only help combat climate change by reducing the carbon footprint. They also create a cyclical, self-sustaining environment to reassure residents and their families that the lights will be on at Desired Living during a power outage.
Medical Support Services
Desired Living will provide on-site medical support services in a dedicated space, enabling residents to remain in a relaxing, familiar environment, thereby reducing personal stress and pressure on hospitals and other medical care facilities. The hosted space will facilitate support services such as:
- Doctors
- Nurse practitioners
- Nursing aides
- Physiotherapists
- Occupational therapists
- Massage therapists
- Café
- Social workers
Personal Growth Support Through Mentorship
The words living and growth naturally go together. To support residents’ growth goals, Desired Living will create on-site mentorship programs in hospitality and trades to learn from and connect with the surrounding community and obtain employment positions for a sustained sense of self, accomplishment, and contribution. If residents wish for other types of mentorships, they simply need to ask.
Listening and Responding Is Foundational to Desired Living’s Vision of a Better Living Opportunity
Desired Living also envisions future mentorship in agriculture because healthy farm-fresh foods are foundational to the community’s health and wellness in the world’s widest sense. To that end, Desired Living’s agricultural mentorship program will help keep farming and agriculture vibrant and financially viable for the next generation so the rural lifestyle and farming families can thrive.