I am curious
It's been four days since you posted, but maybe you're still interested.
Just like a nursing home, a group home can be a good experience or a bad one. You have to do your research.
My brother is in a very nice group home because he has a variety of debilitating mental illnesses. It's extremely clean and welcoming, the grounds are beautiful and well-kept, and it's a very up-to-date facility in terms of kitchens, bathrooms, rec rooms, etc. The group home is basically constructed of a main welcome center, a mini-park where everyone can relax outside, and four different "houses". Each house has about 15 inhabitants with a nurse to attend to each individual, alongside has a main house mother that stays there 24/7 to attend to the needs of everyone. Each inhabitant gets their own room and the group home provides everything needed for it; bed, sheets, television, bathroom, pillows, toothbrush, etc. Once a month, a doctor and a psychiatrist come by to check up on everyone. Dentists swing by semi-annually. The facility is small, only hosting 60 inhabitants as you might have figured out, but the small size makes it easier to keep everyone happy.
The people staying there get a weekly allowance to spend on weekend shopping, movie, or dinner trips (the nurses and employees make such a huge effort to keep everyone stimulated, entertained and happy), but they can also participate in little jobs to earn extra money. For instance, people can shred some paper and earn about 50 cents per hour. It sounds dreadful to you and I, but many individuals staying there enjoy repetitive, simple actions and things of that nature.
Once in a while they go on vacation. Recently, my brother was taken on a trip up north to go to a zoo and a theme park. During holiday seasons they throw (very tame) parties. During the slower parts of the year, most inhabitants go to an adjoining day care center to paint, draw, act, hang around outside, watch movies, play video games, etc.
The people there do really damn good work. My mother and I often go up to bring the nurses cookies and flowers just because the work they do is not easy and they rarely get thanked.
If you're looking into one for a family member, again, I strongly suggest you do research and tour the facility yourself before you make arrangements.
I hope that helped! :)
