• Assisted living facilities are meant to foster community and cooperation among residents.elderly women image by leafy from Fotolia.com
  
  Alternative living facilities provide an option for people who require long-term care outside of institutions or nursing homes. Alternative facilities, or assisted living facilities, allow the elderly, ill, or mentally disabled adults and youth to live more independently, assist one another in daily living and enjoy a higher quality of life. Both the government and private foundations provide grants to establish assisted living facilities.
  
  

The Coming Home Project

• An initiative from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Coming Home Project provides grants to help rural communities develop services and alternative living facilities for residents requiring long-term care. Funds from the project have established the Cache Valley Assisted Living Apartments in Illinois, supported a community hospital and its assisted living wing in Scotland Neck, North Carolina, and established assisted living facilities within the Benedictine Nursing Center in Oregon.
  
  The Coming Home Project
  
  Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
  
  P.O. Box 2316
  
  Route 1 and College Road East
  
  Princeton, NJ 08543
  
  877-843-7953
  
  rwjf.org
  
  

Nursing Facility Conversion Program

• Nebraska's Department of Health and Human Services offers the Nursing Facility Conversion program to provide financial assistance to nursing homes for the conversion of their facilities to assisted living facilities. Grant awards may total as much as $1.1 million. Facilities must adhere to certain guidelines. Each unit must have a minimum number of square feet for living space, and there must be community spaces for dining and activities.
  
  Nursing Facility Conversion Program
  
  Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services
  
  P.O. Box 95026
  
  Lincoln, Nebraska 68509-5026
  
  402-471-3121
  
  hhs.state.ne.us
  
  

Eden Alternative Grant Assistance Program

• The mission of the Tennessee Eden Alternative Grant Assistance Program is to enhance the quality of live for nursing home and assisted living facility residents across the state. Facilities must support the Eden Alternative process for improving care, which emphasizes de-institutionalization and independent decision-making for its residents. Grants of up to $5,000 are awarded annually.
  
  Eden Alternative Grant Assistance Program
  
  Texas Department of Health
  
  425 5th Avenue North Cordell Hull Building
  
  Nashville, TN 37243
  
  health.state.tn.us
  
  615-741-3111