What does the next chapter of life look like for full-time RVers who are aging and need to hang up the RV keys? Or maybe they need to settle down for a while and have a place to recover from surgery or illness. It is not as easy to navigate this stage of life as it is for other RVers who still have a sticks-and-bricks home to go back to.
When the house and stuff are gone and you want an easier lifestyle with access to medical care, household help, and meals, what does the future hold? Add in that you love the RV lifestyle and the RV, what are your best available options?
We received a letter from reader Fred B. this week that addresses that dilemma with a wonderful option. He wrote: “I’m a 20+ year RVtravel.com reader who has been full-timing for the last 15 years. I’m 79 and can see the end of our travel adventures coming up on the horizon in the next five years or so. There are many out there like my wife and I who sold everything to go full-time and will soon have to decide what to do when we reach the end of the road, whether it happens suddenly or is planned in advance.
“We love our RV and would like to continue living in it after we stop traveling, but at some point, we will need some services that regular RV parks don’t offer, such as furnished meals, transportation to doctor appointments or shopping, to church, etc. An independent living facility offers these things, but it requires a complete change of living conditions and environment and a hefty charge of $5,000 or more per month.
“However, there is a wonderful organization called Escapees CARE in Livingston, TX, that offers independent living services in your own RV. As an independent subsidiary of the longtime RVing organization, Escapees, they have a great reputation and have offered independent living in your own RV since 1992 for a fraction of the cost of a typical facility.
“The cost is in the range of $2,000 per month for a couple, for full hookups and electricity. This organization allows elderly full-time RVers to be among their ‘own kind’, sharing stories and memories of the RVing life, and swapping stories of past, exciting, or harrowing RV adventures.
“We just finished volunteering there for a month and I can attest to the great service they are providing for elderly RVers. And as RVers, we volunteers are hearing stories that mimic our current way of life.
“Check out their website for all the services they offer. CARE only gets about 20% of its million-dollar operating budget from donations, so, as a non-profit, they’re always in need of donations, volunteers, and a steady stream of new residents to remain financially healthy. They have more than 60 RV sites and there are usually several available at any time. Some residents still have cars and continue to drive for a few years after coming here.
“This organization provides a valuable service for aging RVers who may have limited options at the end of their travels. It also serves as a temporary stopover for RVers who have a medical issue and need independent living services while they recover, before resuming their travels.
“Thanks for your many years of service to the RV community. I’ve learned almost everything I know about RVing from your newsletters and it has made our adventure, so far, very exciting.”
Escapees CARE in Livingston, Texas
The Escapees CARE, a part of the Escapees program, provides a number of important things for RVers wanting to stay in their RV but still needing some assistance.
- Live in your own RV
- Sleep in your own bed, and use your own bathroom
- Store things in your own storage building
- Have help with propane, holding tanks, and awnings
- Receive site maintenance and help dumping tanks
- Have two laundry loads washed and folded every week (three loads for couples)
- Take a day off while somebody else does the housekeeping in your rig, every other week
- Receive free transport to local medical services
- Free local transport or 50 cents a mile over 50 miles
- Enjoy weekly Walmart shopping trips
- Have fun playing Bingo, Dominos, card games, and board games
- Socialize during exercise, craft projects, pet shows, outings, parties, and special events
- Three meals a day available
Short-term or long-term
Some people choose to make this their forever home, while others are there for a short time recovering from illness or surgery.
RVers may decide to travel short-term in their RV and then return to their spot at Escapees CARE, or leave and then reapply at a later date.
Respite care
The CARE program offers a Respite Program to provide additional services on weekdays. There is a day program, for those needing more intense support. Escapees CARE does accept those with Alzheimer’s or dementia, but only with a second caretaker available.
- CARE has a nurse on duty eight hours during the business day, for the Respite Program
- CARE’s Respite program provides a secure day room, with trained staff to provide monitoring, games, and exercise for the respite clients
- Accepts Alzheimer’s patients
- Monitors blood pressure, weight, and general health
- Assists with medications, including injections
- Assists with bathing and personal grooming
- Assists with eating, up to three meals included
- Assists with toileting and toilet hygiene
- Assists with walking and exercises
Pearl’s Place
There is a two-bedroom rental cottage available for visiting family members of CARE or Respite residents. It is also available for those wanting to tour CARE or needing help with recovery from surgery.
There is also a two-bedroom RV available as a daily rental.
Volunteer
The program relies heavily on volunteer help from other RVers. Commitment is a minimum of one month beginning on the first of the month. A full-hookup RV site and three meals a day are provided. Duties include:
- Working 24-32 hours a week
- Answering phones
- Driving residents to doctor appointments
- Checking in residents at meal times
- Light cleaning in the dining room
- On-call shifts (including overnight)
- Minimal cash register transactions
- Miscellaneous tasks (“honey-do’s”) for residents
Costs
- CARE Independent Living is $1,890 per couple per month
- Respite Program: Additional $45 per day
- Pearl’s Place and RV rental: $70 per day
For more information, please check out the Escapees CARE website and watch the video below.
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##RVT1190
That is a great article about CARE and what services are available. I posted a link to this article on some of the RV sites on Facebook so we can spread the word. We live on a deeded lot in this RV park and CARE is right around the corner. It is one of the many reasons we bought our lot in 2015. They also have a Thrift & Gift center where the monies help to support the CARE center. CARE is now independent of the Escapees RV club and not part of the Harvest Hosts takeover.
That was my biggest concern that the changes already made by Harvest Host would be made to the Care program. If Care is truly independent of HH-GREAT. Is the Care program available anywhere else in the US?
It’s available only at the Livingston location. But it would be nice if Care or some other organization would develop locations in the Southeast & Southwest modeled after this one.
That would be incredible!
Thank you, Nanci! 🙂 Very nice. The independence from Escapees suggests this service will not be the albatross that FMCA’s medical transportation program has become for them. I do wonder, given the reliance on volunteers of this program to reduce costs, how sustainable the extremely low cost is. I guess we’ll see. Happy new year and safe travels! 🙂
CARE has been in existence since well before we became Escapees in 2007 and was well established even then. The land they are on was deeded to CARE from Escapees a while back to further enhance their independence. Escapees should be very familiar with it since it has at least a full page in every issue of Escapees Magazine and tours are featured at Rainbows End Park in Livingston. I believe Escapee membership is required for access, however the membership cost is minimal relative to the cost of care.
A great option!
Thank you Nanci, so much, for this wonderful article on Escapees Care. This article is much more in depth than I had hoped for when I emailed you. This wonderful organization can seriously use the volunteer & financial donation help of all rvers, especially fulltimers that might, someday, want to avail themselves of this service. We just finished volunteering for a month & made many new friends, both residents & staff. Their need for volunteers is year round, but most critical in the summer when snowbirds go back north. I hope all rvers will consider donating to Care, & if traveling near or thru Southeast Texas, will offer to volunteer for a month or two.
Wow, I wonder why we haven’t heard about this great place before now….and yes, it would be great to have this in other areas of the country as well. Thank you all at CARE and Escapees!
We are a new member of Escapees, and didn’t know about this, thanks for the info! Good to have this option for the future.
Escapees hmm that makes people think 🤔🤔🤔
Just wait till investment groups hear about this, It’ll be 8 grand a month in no time.
Well pretty much right but it’s just the American way to make a living or become a billionaire I’m just thinking out loud
What a great idea and service! I hope this becomes a trend in other states.