The Homes for Special Care (HSC) Program was established in 1964 to provide long-term and permanent residential care to persons discharged from Provincial Psychiatric Hospitals (PPH) who require supervision or assistance with activities of daily living. The program encourages community living by offering a housing alternative to institutional care.

The divesting of the PPHs, beginning in March 1998 with the Queen Street Mental Health Centre, required changes to the HSC Act, (proclaimed in December 2000), permitting the receiving and divested facilities to place patients in the HSC homes and to operate the program.

Although much has changed in our understanding of approaches to community living over the almost three decades of the program's operation, it is still an important form of independent community living for a significant number of persons across Ontario. The program places a high value on resident self-determination and quality of living environment for residents.