Geneva's House of Agape Love

Geneva's House of Agape Love is a four-bed assisted living home on Green Valley Street in Southfield, where a handful of residents share an ordinary residential house instead of a large building. The home-style setting means the same few people gather at the table, in the living areas and along the hallways from one day to the next, so neighbors become familiar quickly. Living spaces are fully furnished, and the home provides cable or satellite television, a telephone and wireless internet so residents can stay in touch with family and keep up with the programs they enjoy.

A dining room anchors the household, and a garden with outdoor space gives residents a place to take fresh air, sit in the sun and watch the seasons change without leaving the property. Round-the-clock supervision is part of every day, along with medication management and hands-on help with bathing, dressing and transfers. Because the house is small, caregivers have the chance to learn how each resident likes to begin the morning, which chair is a favorite and when a quiet hour is welcome, and that familiarity makes it easier to notice small changes and share them with a family member or physician.

Meals are prepared and served in the dining room, and the kitchen can accommodate special dietary restrictions, including diabetic diets, so that a resident's needs shape the menu instead of limiting it. With only a few people at the table, caregivers can see who is eating well and who might like a little encouragement or a different dish. Housekeeping is included in the support, which leaves residents free to spend their time on things they enjoy.

Scheduled daily activities and community-sponsored activities are designed to encourage conversation and gentle movement, while those who prefer quiet can keep to their own room. The home coordinates with outside health care providers and arranges transportation to medical and doctor's appointments, so visits to a physician are not left for the family to sort out alone, and move-in coordination helps a new resident settle into the household.

Evenings in a house of this size are gentle and predictable, with a shared dinner, a favorite program on television and a caregiver close by when it is time to settle into bed. Residents who prefer quiet can call a daughter, a son or an old friend from the telephone in their own space whenever they like. Relatives can stay involved by joining a meal, sitting together in the garden or talking with the caregivers about how the week has gone.

Because the household is small, a new resident is introduced to the whole routine at once, from where meals are served to where the garden begins and how the telephone can be used to reach family. Families who visit see the living areas, the dining room and the outdoor space in a single walk through the house, which makes it simple to picture an ordinary weekday and to talk through what a loved one would like each part of the day to feel like.

Caregivers and relatives can also coordinate easily around appointments, since the home arranges transportation and works with outside health care providers. The house sits in a residential part of Southfield in Oakland County, close to everyday errands. A pharmacy is about a mile and a quarter away, a fast food restaurant is under a mile off, and a coffee shop is within a mile and a half. Henry Ford Providence Southfield Hospital is the closest hospital for emergencies and specialist visits, about 3 miles from the home.

Geneva's House of Agape Love offers assisted living only, which suits older adults who need daily help and supervision but want it in a quiet house with a few neighbors rather than a busy building. Visiting the home shows how the rooms, dining area and garden fit together, and the caregivers can explain how a typical day is arranged around each resident's routines, meals and medications.