Resident
Councils
Both nursing homes and adult homes are
required by law to maintain resident councils. Resident
councils should be resident-directed, and should be a
resource for residents to bring up complaints or
problems to the administration as a collective.
Unfortunately, because of the many obstacles facing
residents of nursing homes and adult homes, many
resident councils are co-opted by the administration, or
barely exist at all.
CIAD works with resident councils of
adult homes in order to promote independence and
effectiveness. Resident council organizing typically
begins with informational meetings. CIAD distributes and
explains the Residents’ Bill of Rights as it applies to
residents’ day to day life. The group then begins
brainstorming about council purposes and problems. The
organizer helps to structure the council and strategize
about problems and solutions. CIAD often helps residents
organize and hold elections for council officers and
provides assistance on the basic mechanics of running
meetings, the role of the chair, and in creating an
agenda for improving conditions in the home. CIAD helps
with monthly meetings, and with one-to-one support of
resident members and leaders.
CIAD's newest resource for adult home
resident councils is our Adult
Home Resident Council Toolkit.
The Toolkit comes with a video, Resident
Councils: Voice of the Residents. Watch it
here:
Contact us if you would like a copy.
Another council resource, CIAD's Resident
Council Organizing Manual helps both nursing
home and adult home residents to organize a resident
council. To download the Resident Council Organizing
Manual, click
here.
The EQUAL Grants Program gives real power
to resident councils to decide how to spend substantial
amounts of money to improve residents' lives. To
download our EQUAL
brochure, click
here.
To download our brochure, "How To
Organize a Food Committee In Your Home", click
here.
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