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Welcome back Barbara I was hoping your silence was caused by holidays. You sound very energetic--ready to take on the world. Great ! On Aug 4, Barbara wrote- <<I have often worried about people living alone or when carers <<themselves get sick or too infirm to take care of someone they <<love who has PD. What happens if the carer dies? Invariably <<people are pushed into nursing homes where hardly anyone knows <<anything about PD. You have jumped into the centre of a real problem for people with Parkinsons. In my experience suitable housing for single Parkis does not exist. To achieve something which appears so radical (to others) but so sensible and necessary ---to us, requires a dedicated and determined mover and shaker with credibility (and credit) in business and finance. Not to mention access to people with information and power. Where does this person live? I know that there was some preliminary work on setting up a residence in Toronto. This was before government grants dried up and after I moved to NF. I could try to find out how far they got --as I remember the big problems were property prices and building codes. Barbara wrote- <<I stopped <<receiving the <<UK PDS>> newsletter at that time so don't know <<how things are going. I "talked" with Anne Rutherford <<<[log in to unmask]> of the Newfoundland branch of Parkinson <<Foundation of Canada about this wonderful idea and she was about <<to leave for London and would call PDS whilst there <<for information. I haven't heard from her in this regard. When in London I called the UK PDS and was passed around from one polite person to another. No one knew about special accommodation for people with Parkinsons. Somewhere in the stuff I brought back is the book where I put down the names and notes from the call to the UK PDS. I will excavate my desk on Monday when my helper comes to work and try a snail mail request. Barbara wrote- <<Many of us are still hale and hearty and some will remain so for a <<long time, but "just in case" it probably is a good idea to have <<some alternatives to making it alone - or in a nursing home. I agree with Barbara's comments. And as usual I have 2 cents to add. In my experience Intervention and help only come when the situation is too far gone for them to be of much use. When they fail, intervention and help get a bad reputation ----funding is cut, help comes even later -- and so on. It is far more economical to provide early in home support than to have a caregiver collapse and one or both go into residential care. I have two questions for all the caregivers (and Parkis) on the list. 1)If you could have a helper come to your house on a regular schedule what would you like them to do? (no suggestion is too simple or too difficult) 2)How often and for how many hours a day or a week would you want a helper? Anne Rutherford [log in to unmask] ------------------------------------------------------------ Newfoundland is glorious when the sun shines, my blue delphinium is 6 feet high and the strawberries are ripe! --------------------------------------------------------------