Everyone wants a place to call home, and a group of parents who have adult daughters with special needs is fundraising in hopes of unlocking the door to a future for their aging children.
Peterborough resident Jane Bischoff, founder and chairperson of Our Daughters’ Home, has banded together with others who have the common goal of purchasing a home that their seven daughters can make their own.
But they need the community’s support to help make it happen. This holiday season, Our Daughters’ Home is inviting the community to help create a safe and supportive future for women with developmental disabilities by donating to the cause.
In partnership with Habitat For Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region, Our Daughters’ Home is appealing for support as it is working to fund a duplex to be built in Peterborough’s East City, scheduled for completion in December 2025.
“Our hope for the campaign is to reduce the mortgage for the girls,” Bischoff told kawarthaNOW. “The home will cost approximately $1 million to build and we’d like to try and raise as much money as we can towards that purchase price. We don’t want to leave our daughters with a huge mortgage when we are gone.”
Our Daughters’ Home was formed in July 2023 by a group of parents and the non-profit organization is dedicated to building permanent, inclusive housing for their seven adult daughters, who are currently either living at home with their parents or in group homes.
“Our daughters are aging, and so are we,” Bischoff said in a media release. “There are no appropriate public housing options for them, so we’re taking action to ensure their futures are secure. This is more than a home — it’s about giving them safety, independence, and a chance to thrive.”
Once the duplex is built and the seven girls have moved in, the parents envision them living there happily with 24/7 staff. Some women have higher needs than others, Bischoff noted. Her own daughter Jenny is diagnosed with moderate autism.
“My vision is for my daughter to always be social because she loves to interact with people,” Bischoff said. “If I keeled over the day after she moved in, I could rest assured that Jenny would be taken care of for the rest of her life, without worrying about relatives stepping up to the plate.”
Bischoff, a 67-year-old nutritionist, hopes to still be actively involved with Jenny when the move is completed. She expects she would still like to take her daughter out maybe weekly, whatever works best for them.
“As for the rest of the girls in Ontario whose parents are in the same boat as I am, I would like to provide a template or contact network of some sort so that no parent ever has to worry about what will happen to their daughter as they get older,” Bischoff said.
“It’s a terrible feeling to think that you have nowhere to turn to. Someone told me the wait time to get into a mixed group home is 20 to 30 years. We don’t have time for that.”
The need for a safe and supportive living environment for the seven women is urgent, according to Our Daughters’ Home.
Women with developmental disabilities are at least five times more likely to experience sexual assault than those without disabilities. Those living in mixed-group or institutionalized settings face even greater risks, often at the hands of caregivers or others in positions of trust.
“These statistics highlight the critical importance of creating safe, community-integrated housing like Our Daughters’ Home, where residents are protected and supported,” the group said.
To make a donation and receive a tax receipt, visit habitatpeterborough.ca/donate/ and designate the gift to go to the “Our Daughters’ Home” fund.
If a tax receipt isn’t required, e-transfers can be directly sent to Our Daughters’ Home at ourdaughtershome@gmail.com.
Once their vision comes to life, Bischoff said, “I’m sure all the parents will be there (at their daughters’ new home) on a regular basis, and there will be guilt for a while at having done this. But it will be peace of mind for myself, for Jenny, and the rest of my family. This is the legacy that I hope to leave.”
For more information about Our Daughters’ Home, visit www.ourdaughtershome.ca.
