You have questions? Well we have answers!
What is a Room and Board?
A Room & Board is a home where independent individuals can either rent a bed or a room that also provides food, utilities, furniture etc. Most Room and Boards are month-to-month rentals and are usually used as temporary or transitional housing. When an individual moves into a Room & Board they only need to bring their clothes and a few personal belongings
What is a Board & Care?
A Board & Care is a home that provides medical assistance to the residents living there. There are nurses on staff to be there both in the morning and evening. They can provide med management and help residents to bathe and use the the bathroom if needed. Board & Care’s MUST BE LICENSED by the State of California in order to run.
What is the difference between a Room & Board, and a Board & Care?
Room & Board’s are not legally able to assist with any medically related needs. As such, all people moving into a Room & Board must be independent or have outside assistance(IHSS, Home Health, PT) to help with their needs.
Independent means:
Has the ability to solo transfer into and out of bed
Be able to use the restroom and shower by themselves
Can clean up after themselves
Can Eat by themselves( grab a plate of food, use a microwave, etc.)
Able to take any medication they need by themselves and without reminders.
If a Room & Boards offers or performs any task related to these items they will be seen as running an unlicensed Board & Care and risk being shut down by law enforcement.
Board & Care’s are licensed facilities that employ nurses and are legally permitted to administer medication and other medical services. Individuals in a Board & Care cannot safely live on their own. These would be people with severe physical, medical, and mental issues.
Room & Board’s are also much cheaper than Board & Cares usually starting at $900 for a shared room and $1500-$1800 for a private room. Board & Cares usually start $4000 for shared Rooms and much higher for private ones. Remember when opting for a Board & Care you are not just paying for a place to stay, you a paying to have legally licensed nurses to help you 24/7. If a Board & Care is medically necessary then it is usually covered through medical insurance, and if not, we try to connect people to health programs that will cover their Board & Care. This usually takes a few months and in the mean time we try to house people in Room & Boards with Home Health or IHSS filling in the gaps.
Is there financial aid available?
For now Room & Boards are unable to offer financial aid as they are not considered homeless housing and thus are left out of budget conversations when funding opportunities arise. Our group hopes to change this by reaching out to our state officials as an organization with a serious proposal to help solve our homelessness crisis. Until then we do partner with organizations that pay for their clients rent and can connect you to resources they may be able to help.