It’s all about having options.

REM Iowa’s Marshalltown office, 21 S. Second Ave., has recently become part of a program that matches candidates with Host Homes, which is part of the Mentor Network, a national organization. REM offers community-based programs for adults and youth with developmental and other disabilities.

“We are looking for homes in the area who have an extra bedroom, interested in helping others succeed, willing to care for an adult with intellectual disabilities, mental illness, or a brain injury and make money from home. Our mentors might be someone who works from home, or a parent who wants to stay home with their kids, or empty-nesters or retired folks – the demographics are open for who participates in the program,” Mentor Recruiter Dede Eschen said.

Individuals do not need to receive services from REM to be eligible for placement, but must have intellectual or developmental disabilities.

“I’m excited for this to now be an option,” Aly Wenner, director of community services at REM Marshalltown, said. “We have a residential program (group home) and a day program, so a host home provides something else for a loved one.”

To qualify as a Host Home, applicants, known as mentors, must be able to pass a background check, have a spare bedroom available, have a handicap-accessible home (if needed for the person moving in) and have a car. A high school degree is preferred.

“Most of the people in this program are high-functioning adults with disabilities but just not able to live on their own. Many are able to work, take the bus, go to school, etc. They are able to and enjoy getting out and doing things.”

The mentor will be responsible for medication management, coordinating transportation and helping with life skills. Some training is involved to become certified. A daily progress chart is filled out, weekly reports are sent to REM and monthly home visits are required. Mentors receive a daily stipend/income as well as monthly rent.

Homes may take in several people if so desired.

Eschen said the goal is to have the person placed in a home for the long-term — that’s why the matching process is so thorough. She said REM’s Host Homes program in Eastern Iowa is doing well.

“I love looking at the homes and seeing how well the individuals fit in with the families,” she said. “A lot of times they go on vacation with the families, do Christmases together, birthday parties. And if the individual’s family is still involved, they’re often brought in, and it’s just one, big extended family. It’s just really cool. We’ve had people who had a foster child (age out of the system) and then they became a Host Home so the person could keep living with them.”

There are currently two to three people in Marshalltown in need of a Host Home, however the host home doesn’t have to be in Marshalltown.

For more information, contact Eschen, who is based in Hiawatha, at 319-393-1944 or dede.eschen@thementornetwork.com.