I hate my Assisted Living Community

What to do if you hate your assisted living community or are new to living in an assisted living community?

Here are some helpful tips to help you get acclimated to your new home. Like living any new place there are always things to get adjusted to. After all, if you or your loved one have always lived at home or with a family member moving in a new place will be an adjustment.

One of the best tips I can offer is visit your loved one often. Show them they will not be forgotten. Many family members or loved ones get moved into an assisted living community and fear they will be forgotten. By showing up and visiting it will remind them they are not forgotten. It will also allow you to continue to assist them if there are things they need or want or to keep them company so they are not lonely.

Secondly, set up your loved ones room with all of their favorite things. You want to make the room as much like home as possible. By being around their own items it makes them feel like home despite being in a new place. If you loved one collects items or has specific knick-knacks or linens, find a way to incorporate those into the new room. This will make them feel like they are home.

Next, we suggest the loved one or family member gets involved. Even if they are going down for meals it opens them up to meet new people and make friends. My own grandmother lives in an assisted living community and despite her being a loner she went down at meals and met a new friend. This new friend encouraged her to get involved and Grandma would go down for all meals just to chat with her friend.

Lastly, focus on finding things to help keep them entertained. The assisted living provides some activities and you definitely want to encourage your loved one to participate in those activities. However, if they are a loner or a homebody you want to also have things to keep them entertained. For example, Grandma was given an tablet and taught how to play games on the tablet. She loves card games and despite constant encouragement to play with others she enjoys sitting in her room placing hearts on her tablet. The family provides word search books, television, and books. These items also remind her she is still free to do what she wants.

Most importantly, is to remind your family member that this is their home. Many times the loved one feels they will have to follow a strict schedule and are stuck in their room. This is not the case. They are actually completely independent, free to do as they want. They are not in a prison they are independent. By living in assisted living it is purely an apartment that offers additional help, if needed for basic tasks, so that they can continue being independent and safe.