Why Only Three Residents?

When people hear that True North Living plans to serve a maximum of three residents in each home, one of the first questions we expect to hear is:

“Why only three?”

After all, if a home can accommodate more people, why not serve more?

For us, the answer is simple:

Because bigger isn’t always better.

We aren’t trying to create a facility.

We’re trying to create a home.

And we believe there is a significant difference.

A home should feel like a home.

When you live somewhere, you shouldn’t feel like you’re simply occupying a bed in a program.

You should know the people around you.

You should know the staff who support you.

You should have choices about your daily life.

You should have opportunities to participate in your community.

And you should have space to simply be yourself.

Keeping the household small makes those things easier.

Three residents means we can design the home around the people who actually live there rather than trying to make three people fit into a predetermined system.

Small enough to know the person—not just the diagnosis.

One of the principles behind True North Living is that staff need to know the person they are supporting.

Not just their diagnosis.

Not just their medication list.

Not just their behavioral history.

The person.

What makes them laugh?

What do they enjoy doing?

How do they communicate?

What are their strengths?

What situations overwhelm them?

How do they show that they’re becoming overwhelmed?

What helps them regulate?

What goals do they have?

What are they capable of doing independently?

And where do they actually need help?

Those questions become much harder to answer when a household becomes large enough that residents can start to blend into a system of routines and schedules.

Three allows us to remain personal.

Three also allows for individuality.

We aren’t looking for three people who are exactly alike.

In fact, we don’t expect that.

Different personalities, interests, abilities and support needs can make a household interesting and dynamic.

But compatibility matters.

Before someone becomes a True North resident, we want to consider whether the home is a good fit for that individual—and whether that individual is a good fit for the people already living there.

The goal isn’t simply:

“Do we have an empty room?”

The question is:

“Would this person thrive here?”

That’s a very different question.

Community shouldn’t stop at the front door.

A small household also makes it easier to get out into the community.

Go to dinner.

Go shopping.

Attend an event.

Go to the movies.

Visit a park.

Pursue employment.

Take a class.

Visit friends.

Go somewhere simply because someone wants to go.

Life doesn’t happen exclusively inside a group home.

The home should be the starting point—not the boundary.

And yes, there is a practical reason, too.

We want our staffing model to support meaningful interaction rather than simply keeping everyone supervised.

Our initial model is based on one staff member supporting up to three residents, with 12-hour shifts.

That means the staffing structure is designed around a small household from the beginning.

We aren’t starting with ten residents and trying to figure out how to make the staffing work.

We’re starting with three and building the environment around them.

Three isn’t a magic number.

We aren’t suggesting that three is the perfect number for every residential program.

It is the number that makes sense for our model.

It allows us to remain small enough to be personal while still creating opportunities for residents to develop relationships, share experiences and participate in a household together.

And if True North eventually grows, our goal isn’t to make the original home bigger simply because we can.

We would rather create another small home than turn one home into something it was never intended to be.

Because success isn’t measured by how many beds we fill.

It’s measured by what happens to the people who live there.

Did they gain a skill?

Did they become more independent?

Did they find something they love doing?

Did they make a friend?

Did they get a job?

Did they become more confident?