Empowering Caregivers,
Supporting Communities,
Strengthening Colorado
Rocky Mountain Employee Ownership Center (RMEOC) has launched a Homecare Cooperative Incubation Program to build a STATEWIDE worker-owned homecare cooperative.
We aim to tackle two urgent challenges:
Poor Working Conditions
The poor working conditions for home care workers, most of whom come from marginalized communities.
Growing Need for Homecare
The growing need for quality, community-based care for seniors and people with disabilities.
Statewide Impact
We aim to launch a cooperative with a branch in each of Colorado’s five regions:
After completing a feasibility study early this year, we are now in the process of launching Colorado’s first homecare coop with its first regional branch in the Denver Metro area!
For Homecare Workers
Dignity, Ownership, and Opportunity
Homecare workers are the backbone of our long-term care system–however, they are undervalued, underpaid, and often forced to rely on public assistance. Homecare cooperatives are emerging as a solution.
Traditional Homecare Industry | Home Care Cooperatives |
|---|---|
Worker Exploitation | Worker Ownership |
Underpaid: $15.27 average wage | Higher wages: $17.28 average wage |
80% turnover rate | 30% turnover rate |
No career advancement | Career pathways and training |
Fraud and wage theft | Transparent, worker-led governance |
Why this matters
For Clients and
Communities
By 2030, more than 1.2 million Coloradans will be over the age of 65. Nationally, 9 out of 10 seniors say they want to age in place—living independently in the comfort of their own homes.
This project aims to make that possible. By expanding the availability of trained caregivers, we can ensure that seniors and individuals with disabilities have the support they need to remain safe, comfortable, and connected at home. With a Statewide home care cooperative operating in each of Colorado’s five regions, we will expand access to high-quality, community-based care—especially in rural and underserved areas where options are limited. And because cooperatives prioritize the well-being of caregivers, the result is better care, higher client satisfaction, and stronger, healthier communities.
Want to support our work?
Here’s how!
Connections to referral partners and/or private pay clients
Especially with the uncertainty around medicaid, we need to have a strong base of private pay clients to ensure we can serve the most vulnerable community members while maintaining a livable wage for caregivers.
Connections with caregivers interested in becoming cooperative members
Save countless hours otherwise spent on creating from scratch.
Thought partnership & pro bono services
Much of a home care cooperative’s success is determined by their operations. We are therefore seeking thought partnership and in-kind services for everything from marketing to bookkeeping and financial training, to entrepreneurship coaching and legal support.
Fondos
We are working to raise funds to launch each of the 5 regional home care cooperative branches debt free, with enough capital to cover indirect operating costs for one year.
How can we help you?
For more information, please contact Debra Brown ([email protected]) or 720-917-4900.
News and Updates
Founding members recruited: We’re excited to announce that the founding members of the Denver Metro Home Care Cooperative Branch have officially been recruited! This dedicated group of caregivers brings with them not only years of experience providing compassionate home care, but also a deep commitment to shaping a cooperative that truly reflects the needs of both workers and clients.
They are now beginning their cooperative education and training, learning the skills needed to govern, manage, and grow the business together. As caregivers, their perspective ensures that the cooperative will always be rooted in quality care, fairness, and the best interests of those who make up the heart of the organization—its worker-owners.
Program Director
Debra Brown
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