Dementia Care at Home in Toronto: What Families Should Know

Dementia care at home in Toronto is personalized, non-medical support with daily routines, personal care, meals, companionship, safety supervision, medication reminders, and family respite. It can work alongside publicly funded home care through Ontario Health atHome and medical care, but it does not diagnose or treat dementia. 

Many people living with dementia continue to live at home, in familiar rooms, following routines they have kept for years. If you are a son, daughter, spouse, or close friend trying to work out what help your loved one needs, the good news is that a lot can be done at home to support their days, and yours. We are Comfort Keepers Toronto, a local in-home care team based in North York. This guide explains what non-medical dementia care at home can and cannot do, how it supports familiar routines, safety, and engagement, and where to turn for help in Toronto. To be clear from the start: in-home care supports quality of life and safety. It never replaces medical care, and it cannot cure or slow dementia. 

Written by the Comfort Keepers Toronto Editorial Team. Reviewed for local service accuracy by Susan Uno, Franchise Administrator, Comfort Keepers Toronto. Published August 2026 · Last reviewed August 2026. It offers general information, not medical advice. 

Key Takeaways 

• Dementia care at home in Toronto is non-medical, personalized support that helps a loved one keep familiar routines, stay engaged, and stay safer, while giving the family relief. 

• In CIHI’s 2015–2016 data, about 61% of seniors with dementia lived at home in the community rather than in long-term care, so staying home is a common path, not the exception. 

• In-home care can include personal care, meals, medication reminders, companionship, and safety supervision. It does not include diagnosis, prescribing, or medical treatment. 

• Caregivers of people with dementia carry a heavy load, about 26 hours of care a week, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, and are far more likely to experience distress, which is why planned respite matters early. 

• You can combine supports in Toronto: publicly funded home care through Ontario Health atHome, the Alzheimer Society of Toronto, and private care like ours. Call us at (416) 663-2930 to talk it through. 

Why Many Families Prefer to Support a Loved One at Home 

Keeping a loved one with dementia at home is normal and, for many families, the right first choice. In the Canadian Institute for Health Information’s 2015–2016 analysis, about 61% of Canadian seniors with dementia, more than 261,000 people, lived outside publicly funded long-term care or nursing homes. Nationally, an estimated 771,939 people are living with dementia as of January 2025, and here in Ontario, more than 250,000 people are living with dementia, a number forecast to keep rising as the population ages, as reported by the Alzheimer Society of Canada and the Alzheimer Society of Ontario. 

There is a practical reason home works for so many families. A place that is safe, familiar, and comfortable can help a person live well with dementia, because at home they are free to follow life-long routines and stay in a neighbourhood they know, while a move to an unfamiliar setting can mean a loss of self-reliance and control, as the Alzheimer Society of Canada explains in Living safely and independently. That is also the goal Ontario’s publicly funded system is built around, helping people continue living safely in their own homes and communities, as the Government of Ontario describes in its guide to home and community care. 

Home is not the right answer in every situation, and needs change over time. But for a family weighing what to do next, it helps to know that support at home is a common and well-established path. 

From our Toronto team: In the years we have supported Toronto families, what people mention to us later is usually something small: a familiar mug in the right cupboard, a walk along the same block, a favourite song after supper. Our approach, which Comfort Keepers calls Interactive Caregiving, is to keep a person doing the everyday things they still can, with us alongside them, rather than doing everything for them. Familiar surroundings give people something to hold onto, and our job is to protect that. 

What In-Home Dementia Care Can Include 

In-home dementia care is non-medical, personalized help with everyday life. It covers the practical parts of the day a person may find harder over time, from personal care and meals to companionship and gentle supervision for safety, and it gives family caregivers a break. The Alzheimer Society of Canada’s guidance on day-to-day care describes how people living with dementia gradually need more and more help with personal care, meals, routines, and getting around, and that is the ground in-home care covers. 

These overlap with the services Ontario’s publicly funded program provides, including personal support such as bathing, dressing and mobility, help with meals and everyday activities, and short periods of relief for a caregiver, as described by the Government of Ontario in its guide to home and community care. A good caregiver does this with the person, not simply for them. World Health Organization guidance for caregivers puts it plainly, to engage the person in personal care by helping them do as much as they can themselves, and to remind the person to eat and drink rather than take the task away, in its information for caregivers. Our own care is personalized rather than a fixed package, so it can begin with a few hours a week and grow as needs do. 

There is a clear line between this kind of support and medical care, and it matters. Non-pharmacological interventions of this kind can improve quality of life and daily functioning, according to the World Health Organization’s dementia fact sheet, but the same source is direct that there is no cure for dementia. In-home care helps a person live better day to day. It does not treat the condition. The comparison below shows where that line sits. 

Figure 1. What non-medical in-home dementia care can and cannot do. 

If a family is unsure which needs are medical and which are day-to-day, that is exactly the kind of thing our dementia care team in Toronto can help you sort out, and we will always point you back to your physician or Ontario Health atHome for the medical side. 

Why Familiar Routines and Everyday Activities Help 

Consistent routines and meaningful activity help a person with dementia know what to expect, stay engaged, and keep a sense of independence and dignity. Routines help the person with dementia know what to expect and help them continue to do things on their own, which supports greater dignity and confidence, as the Alzheimer Society of Canada notes in Setting routines and reminders. The World Health Organization adds that it is important to maintain routines similar to the ones the person had before developing dementia, in its caregiver guidance. Familiarity is the thread, and a routine a person already knows carries less confusion than a new one. 

Engagement matters just as much as routine. Staying socially and mentally active can help a person live independently for a longer period, and activity works best when it is matched to what the person can still do and enjoy, so they feel successful and have fun, as the U.S. National Institute on Aging advises on adapting activities. This is the heart of person-centred care, which the Alzheimer Society of Canada describes as recognizing a person’s unique values, personal history and personality, and their equal right to dignity and respect, in its guidance on person-centred care. Canada’s national dementia strategy is built on the same idea, a person-centred approach that focuses on respecting and preserving an individual’s rights, autonomy and dignity, in the words of the Public Health Agency of Canada. 

Everyday Ways We Support a Familiar Routine 

Supporting a routine is mostly small, steady things. We keep the day’s rhythm close to what a person is used to, waking, meals, a walk, rest, and evening wind-down at familiar times. We build activity around what someone already loves, whether that is folding laundry together, a hand of cards, a favourite radio programme, or preparing a family recipe. Shared meals give the day structure, and we serve them in a calm, quiet place, encourage the person to feed themselves where they can, offer regular drinks to avoid dehydration, and never rush, following the Alzheimer Society of Canada’s mealtime guidance. None of this is complicated. It just has to be consistent and led by the person. 

Communicating in a Way That Reduces Stress 

How we speak with someone can make an ordinary moment calmer or harder. Widely recommended approaches are gentle and simple: make eye contact and use the person’s name, be aware of your tone and body language, allow more time for a reply, and never talk about the person as though they are not there, as the National Institute on Aging sets out in its guidance on communicating with someone who has Alzheimer’s. The World Health Organization adds to speak clearly and slowly, face-to-face and at eye level, and to ask one thing at a time, in its caregiver information. Our caregivers use these approaches every day, because a familiar face and an unhurried manner do as much for a person’s comfort as any task on the schedule. 

Everyday Safety and Awareness at Home 

Safety at home means reducing everyday risks, falls, kitchen and medication hazards, and the chance of a person becoming lost, through simple adjustments and a consistent, watchful presence. It is worth being honest that no measure removes risk entirely. The aim is to lower it while protecting a person’s independence. 

Falls are the biggest everyday hazard. They are the leading cause of injury-related hospitalizations among people aged 65 or older in Canada, and it is estimated that between 20% and 30% of seniors fall each year, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. Many risks are reducible with practical changes, good lighting and night lights, grab bars by the toilet and bath, non-slip bath mats, and removing or securing loose scatter mats, as Health Canada advises. For dementia specifically, the Alzheimer Society of Canada suggests locking away medications and cleaning products, checking whether appliances can be used safely, and improving lighting to reduce shadows that may cause confusion, in its guidance on making your environment safe, while cautioning against restricting a person so much that it harms their confidence. 

Some people with dementia become disoriented and lose their way. Six in ten people who live with dementia are at risk of getting lost, notes the Alzheimer Society of Canada, which prefers the term walking about to wandering. Families can register a loved one with MedicAlert Safely Home, described by the Alzheimer Society of Canada as a nationwide service designed to help identify a person living with dementia who has gone missing, and in Ontario the Alzheimer Society’s Finding Your Way program helps families recognize the risks of going missing and prepare for them. It is important to keep expectations realistic, because no device or system can guarantee that a person living with dementia will not get lost or that they will be found, as the Alzheimer Society of Canada states plainly in its guidance on tracking devices. What a consistent caregiver adds is steady attention, and regular check-ins and presence can help reduce risks. 

Driving is often the hardest safety conversation. Most people in the early stages of dementia can continue to drive safely and competently, but the condition will eventually raise the risk, and a person should stop driving once a collision becomes more likely, according to the Alzheimer Society of Canada’s guidance on driving with dementia. This is a medical and legal matter, not something a home-care team decides. We support families around it, and we point you to your physician and Ontario’s licensing authority for the actual determination. 

Figure 2. Common home-safety concerns and practical steps. 

Safety measures work best layered together, and none of them replaces knowing the person well enough to notice when something is off. 

How Care Can Support Family Caregivers 

In-home care gives family caregivers real, scheduled relief, and that relief is a healthy, normal part of dementia caregiving, not a sign of failing. The load is heavy and well documented. About 26 hours a week of informal care is required for a Canadian aged 65 or older living with dementia, compared with 17 hours for a senior without dementia, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information. The distress that comes with it is real, and recent federal data shows the gap remains substantial: in 2023–2024, 35.3% of caregivers for people living with dementia experienced symptoms of distress such as anger, depression, or feeling unable to continue, compared with 19.2% of caregivers for people without dementia, as reported by the Public Health Agency of Canada. Families also carry a real cost: the Public Health Agency of Canada has reported an average of about $4,600 out of pocket each year for each person with dementia in a caregiver’s care. Across Canada, family and friends provide more than 580 million hours of unpaid dementia care a year, equal to about 290,000 full-time jobs, reports the Alzheimer Society of Canada. 

Figure 3. The load family dementia caregivers carry, and why planned respite matters. 

Respite care is the direct answer to that load. It is a break, a chance to do something for yourself, and regular relief can help you be a better caregiver when you return, as the Alzheimer Society of Canada notes. Respite can be in-home, through an adult day program, or a short residential stay. The reason to arrange it early rather than late is that caregiver stress builds quietly, and the Society lists signs worth watching for, including exhaustion, sleeplessness, anxiety, social withdrawal, and health problems, in its guidance on reducing caregiver stress. You should not have to do it all alone, and bringing in help before a crisis is easier on everyone. Our respite care in Toronto is built exactly for this: a regular weekly break, or cover when you are unwell or away. 

When Care Needs Become More Continuous 

As dementia progresses, needs usually increase, and some families move from a few hours of help a week toward overnight or continuous support. It helps to know which way things tend to go, without treating it as a fixed timetable. Dementia is progressive and its course cannot be reversed, so our focus is on supporting the person well at each stage rather than trying to change the disease itself. 

Care needs tend to rise stage by stage. In the early stage a person keeps many of their abilities and assistance may not be needed, while in the later stage care may be required 24 hours a day, per the Alzheimer Society of Canada’s guide to the stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Night-time is often what tips a family toward more hours, because restlessness and disorientation can happen in the evening and overnight, and added supervision can help keep those hours safer. Because our care is personalized, it can grow from a few hours a week to overnight or 24-hour home care in Toronto without the person having to change providers or start over with a stranger. It grows on your family’s terms, a bit at a time. 

Questions to Ask a Dementia Care Provider 

Before choosing a provider, ask how they handle the things that matter most in dementia care: training, consistency, the care plan, how care scales, night-time safety, respite, backup, communication, and honesty about their limits. Good answers to these questions tell you far more than any brochure. 

• Are your caregivers specifically trained in dementia care, including communication and responsive behaviours, rather than general senior care alone? 

• Will the same one or two caregivers be assigned, so my loved one sees familiar faces, and how do you match them to personality and routine? 

• Do you create a written, individual care plan, and how often is it reviewed and updated as needs change? 

• As needs grow, can you add hours, overnight shifts, or continuous support without us switching providers? 

• How do you handle night-time supervision, the risk of a person walking about, and home-safety concerns? 

• Can you provide regular respite so the family gets scheduled breaks, and cover longer or emergency respite when needed? 

• What happens if the assigned caregiver is unavailable, and how quickly is backup arranged? 

• How will you keep us informed about changes in mood, appetite, sleep, or new behaviours between visits? 

• Will you coordinate with our family, physician, Ontario Health atHome, and the Alzheimer Society of Toronto? 

• Since this is non-medical care, how do you recognize when needs go beyond what in-home care can safely provide, and help us plan the next step? 

We are glad to answer every one of these about our own service, and we think you should ask them of anyone you consider. 

Local Support for Toronto Families 

Toronto families can draw on several sources of help: publicly funded home care through Ontario Health atHome, the Alzheimer Society of Toronto, private in-home care like ours and, for eligible veterans, Veterans Affairs Canada. Knowing what each one offers makes the next call easier. 

Ontario’s publicly funded home care is provided based on assessed need and delivered through Ontario Health atHome. In Toronto, you or a family member can make a referral and be connected to a care coordinator who assesses needs and eligibility, and you can start by calling 1-833-515-1234, per Ontario Health atHome. If you qualify, the Government of Ontario pays for home care, though some community support services can carry a client co-payment, as noted in the province’s guide to home and community care. Public and private care can work together, so families can use publicly funded services alongside privately arranged support like ours when additional care is needed. Ontario also runs a limited Family-Managed Home Care program, which lets eligible patients or their substitute decision-makers receive funding to purchase home care services or employ care providers, as Ontario Health atHome sets out, though it is open only to defined groups rather than every family. 

The Alzheimer Society of Toronto is the local hub for dementia support. You can reach it at 416-322-6560, where First Link Care Navigators help families assess their needs and create a support plan that is right for them, connecting them to information, counselling, education, support groups, and safety programs, per the Alzheimer Society of Toronto. Many of its supports are free, while some programs have a registration fee. The Alzheimer Society also runs Minds in Motion, a community-based program that pairs gentle physical activity with social connection for people living with early to mid-stage dementia and their care partners. For veterans, the Veterans Independence Program from Veterans Affairs Canada provides annual tax-free funding for services such as housekeeping, meal preparation, personal care, and professional health and support services. 

Table 1. Where Toronto families can turn 

Why Toronto Families Count on Comfort Keepers 

Families choose us for dementia care at home for a few clear reasons: we are local and accountable, our care is personal, and it grows with your loved one as needs change. We stay steady while the rest of a family’s support shifts around it. 

We are your local Comfort Keepers team in Toronto, based in North York at 245 Fairview Mall Dr #401, North York, ON M2J 4T1. A real person and a local team stand behind the care, not a distant call centre. If something changes with your loved one, you are talking to the people who actually arrange the care. 

Our caregivers are matched to your loved one’s personality and daily routine, and we work to keep the same familiar faces coming to the home. In dementia care, that consistency matters more than almost anything else, because a trusted, recognized caregiver brings calm that a rotating roster of strangers cannot. We build the day around the person through Interactive Caregiving, and we adjust the plan as needs change, from a few hours a week to overnight or continuous support, all with one team. 

We also work alongside the rest of your loved one’s support, your family, their physician, Ontario Health atHome, and the Alzheimer Society of Toronto, so the pieces fit together rather than pull in different directions. You do not have to coordinate all of it on your own. And because hard nights and sudden changes do not wait for business hours, our Toronto team is reachable and care can be arranged around the clock. When you want to go over the options, we are ready. 

How to Start a Care Conversation 

Start gently and early. Pick a calm, unhurried moment, focus on independence and safety rather than what is being lost, offer choices instead of instructions, and begin with a small amount of help rather than a big change all at once. A person is far more likely to accept a little support with something specific, a ride to an appointment or a hand with meals, than a wholesale handover of their day. If the first conversation does not go smoothly, that is normal, and it is worth returning to later rather than pushing. 

When you are ready to look at in-home care, the practical next step is a conversation with a provider about what your loved one needs now and what may change. With us, that starts with a no-pressure talk about your family’s situation, and care that begins where it makes sense and grows only as needed. You can ask about dementia care at home any time, or reach our Toronto team at (416) 663-2930. We will walk you through the options at your pace, and when you are ready, we are here to help your loved one stay safe, engaged, and at home. 

About the Author and Reviewer 

This guide was written by the Comfort Keepers Toronto Editorial Team and reviewed for local service accuracy by Susan Uno, Franchise Administrator of Comfort Keepers Toronto, who brings a personal caregiving background and a long tenure with Comfort Keepers to the Toronto team’s work. This is a local service-accuracy review, not a clinical or medical review, and it confirms that the local service information here reflects how our Toronto team actually supports families. You can learn more about our team on the Comfort Keepers Toronto team page. This article provides general information and does not replace medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. 

Sources 

Alzheimer Society of Canada. Dementia numbers in Canada (2025). 

Alzheimer Society of Ontario. Advocacy efforts in Ontario. 

Canadian Institute for Health Information. Dementia in home and community care (2015–2016 data). 

Canadian Institute for Health Information. Unpaid caregiver challenges and supports. 

Public Health Agency of Canada. A Dementia Strategy for Canada: Together We Achieve, 2025 annual report (2025). 

Public Health Agency of Canada. Dementia in Canada, including Alzheimer’s disease (data blog). 

Public Health Agency of Canada. Surveillance report on falls among older adults in Canada (2024). 

Public Health Agency of Canada. Seniors’ Falls in Canada infographic. 

Health Canada. Seniors and Aging: Preventing Falls in and around Your Home. 

Public Health Agency of Canada. A Dementia Strategy for Canada: Together We Aspire (2019). 

World Health Organization. Dementia fact sheet (2026). 

World Health Organization. Dementia: Information for caregivers. 

National Institute on Aging. Adapting Activities for People With Alzheimer’s Disease. 

National Institute on Aging. Communicating With Someone Who Has Alzheimer’s Disease. 

Alzheimer Society of Canada. Living safely and independently. 

Alzheimer Society of Canada. Setting routines and reminders. 

Alzheimer Society of Canada. Providing day-to-day care. 

Alzheimer Society of Canada. Meal time. 

Alzheimer Society of Canada. Providing person-centred care. 

Alzheimer Society of Canada. Making your environment safe. 

Alzheimer Society of Canada. Disorientation and losing one’s way. 

Alzheimer Society of Canada. MedicAlert Safely Home. 

Alzheimer Society of Canada. Tracking devices. 

Alzheimer Society of Canada. Driving with dementia. 

Alzheimer Society of Canada. The stages of Alzheimer’s disease. 

Alzheimer Society of Canada. Reducing caregiver stress. 

Government of Ontario. Home and community care. 

Ontario Health atHome. Getting started. 

Ontario Health atHome. Family-Managed Home Care. 

Alzheimer Society of Toronto. Get help now. 

Alzheimer Society of Ontario. Finding Your Way. 

Alzheimer Society of Ontario. Minds in Motion. 

Veterans Affairs Canada. Veterans Independence Program. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

Can someone with dementia continue living safely at home? 

Often, yes. Many people living with dementia continue to live safely at home with the right mix of support, familiar routines, and everyday safety measures. Non-medical in-home care can help with personal care, meals, medication reminders, companionship, and gentle supervision, while reducing common risks such as falls, medication mix-ups, and becoming lost. It is not the right choice in every situation, and needs change over time, but with steady support and coordination with your physician and Ontario Health atHome, staying at home is a realistic path for many Toronto families. 

Is dementia care at home covered by Ontario’s publicly funded home care, or do we pay privately? 

It can be both, and the two are separate. Publicly funded home care through Ontario Health atHome follows an assessed need and a set schedule, while private care like ours is arranged and paid for directly by the family, with more say over the caregiver, the hours, and the times of day. Private care does not require an Ontario Health atHome eligibility assessment to begin, though we still carry out our own in-home evaluation and care planning to understand your loved one’s needs. Families may start with a little private help while they wait for a public assessment, then keep the mix that works for them. 

Do your dementia caregivers provide medical or nursing care? 

Our dementia care at home is non-medical, and medication is a good example of the line. Our caregivers can remind a person to take what their doctor has already prescribed, but they do not prescribe, adjust, or administer treatment. When clinical care such as wound care or injections is needed, it is arranged with a qualified nurse or your physician, and we coordinate so nothing falls through the gap. Where ongoing clinical support is needed, we can also help you arrange in-home nursing. 

Does night-time restlessness mean our loved one has to move to a facility? 

Usually not on its own. Overnight support at home can take different shapes, from a caregiver who stays awake through the night to a live-in arrangement, and the right choice depends on what is actually happening after dark. Matching the type of night support to the real need is often what lets someone stay home longer. 

What if our parent refuses help? 

This is very common, and it is usually about protecting independence and pride. When gentle first steps are not landing and you are worried about safety, it often helps to involve someone the person already trusts, such as their family doctor, and to keep the conversation on one specific concern rather than “help” in general. When refusal and a real safety risk start to collide, that is a good moment to talk it through with your physician or the Alzheimer Society of Toronto. 

How quickly can in-home care start in Toronto? 

It depends on the level of support you need and current availability. The fastest way to get a clear answer for your situation is to call our Toronto team at (416) 663-2930, and we will go over timing and next steps.