Washington State is home to five home care cooperatives under the umbrella of the Northwest Cooperative Development Center (NWCDC); the oldest being Circle of Life Caregivers Cooperative, which launched in July 2007.
Circle of Life Caregiver Cooperative – Bellingham, WA
Circle of Life Caregiver Cooperative opened it’s doors in 2009, and is the oldest and largest home care cooperative in Washington State. As is often the case, Circle of Life Caregivers Co-op, was started from necessity. A woman needed help taking care of her elderly father and she called out to other women for help. Today, the cooperative is enjoying a time of growth. Circle of Life continues to provide high-quality in home care to Whatcom County’s elders as well as grow their membership of caregivers. They currently have over 30 caregivers, the majority of whom are owners of their cooperative.
Peninsula Homecare Cooperative – Port Townsend, WA
Peninsula Homecare Cooperative opened for business on February 8th, 2016. Their co-op was founded by a group of experienced caregivers who held that coalescing their resources and experience into a licensed home care agency was the best way to provide consistent and exceptional care to our community. Together they recognized the need for a different kind of homecare agency– one that respected caregivers and the essential work they do; one that paid caregivers well; one that included caregivers in decision making and in shaping the culture of their workplace. Peninsula Homecare Cooperative was warmly welcomed in Jefferson County and has been providing exceptional care and creating exceptional jobs ever since. “For us caregiving is easy… after all it is our chosen and passionate career. But we are more than a caregiving agency… we are a worker-owned cooperative where the principles of a democratic workplace must be understood and practiced daily..” (PHC Founder, Kippi Waters)
Capital Homecare Cooperative – Olympia, WA
Capital Homecare Cooperative opened it’s doors as the third home care cooperative on March 2nd, 2018 in Olympia Washington. A women led and lgbtqai-friendly business from the beginning, CHC has pioneered employee empowerment in their community while providing exceptional, person-centered care. Lead by caregivers, CHC has offered around 33% in wage increases annually to their caregivers, notably provided financial support to workers during the Covid19 crisis in 2020-2022, and seen caregivers do incredible work of the business including studying and updating bylaws, creating annual budgets, assisting with marketing and public outreach, becoming certified trainers, and more. They continue to grow and thrive with the support of their community, and to set a standard in quality care.
Ridgeline Homecare Cooperative – Port Angeles, WA
Ridgeline Homecare Co-op in Port Angeles, WA opened its doors as the fourth home care co-op in February of 2020, in perfect sync with the outbreak of Covid19. In spite of the plethora of challenges this burgeoning co-op faced, this incredible, female led, caregiver led team modeled the cooperative difference so exceptionally that within a year they began to flourish, and are now showing wonderful profits and rapid growth. Their caregivers are used to rural and beautiful conditions as they provide in-home care with the backdrop of the world famous Hurricane Ridge and the Olympia Mountain Range.
Heartsong Homecare Cooperative – Anacortes, WA
Heartsong Homecare Cooperative opened its doors in September 2021, it is the fifth and most recent home care cooperative to open its doors in Washington state! Located in Anacortes WA, Heartsong Homecare Cooperative serves the beautiful Skagit and Island County Communities on and around Whidbey Island. Caregiver founded, owned and lead, Heartsong Homecare Cooperative has experienced steady growth since they opened their doors and are already an integral part of the Pacific Northwest Cooperative Community.