Seniors Helping Seniors will help older people live independently
Older people who want to continue to live independently in their homes have a new option for making that happen.
Kurt Gray, the former director of driver education for the AAA Club Alliance, is launching a Seniors Helping Seniors franchise in mid-March serving Annandale, Springfield, and other areas in Fairfax County.
The program recruits active retirees to help older or less-active seniors who need care, Gray says.
Caregivers provide such services as household assistance, transportation, food preparation, trash disposal, and companionship.
For the senior caregivers, Seniors Helping Seniors provides flexible, meaningful work for which they are paid about $16 to $18 an hour, Gray says. The program offers a source of income for people often overlooked in the job market.
Caregivers don’t need special skills or certifications. Seniors Helping Seniors will train participants. “We’re looking for people who are kind and passionate about helping others,” he says.
Related story: Naborforce matches seniors with helpers
Seniors Helping Seniors matches people with similar interests who live nearby. The goal is to pair people who would be a good fit, so the same caregiver would continue to work with the same client.
Gray spent much of his 39-year career at Triple-A teaching classes to seniors on driver safety and assessing their driving skills. After he retired a year ago, he continued that work as a consultant, so becoming a Seniors Helping Seniors franchisee “seemed like a natural progression.”
According to the company, the in-home senior care industry is growing rapidly, as an estimated 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 every day. By 2050, nearly 20 percent of the U.S. population will be age 65 or older.
Husband-and-wife duo Kiran and Philip Yocom founded Seniors Helping Seniors in-home services in 1998 and the franchise system in 2006. It is now in over 200 locations in more than 30 states and international markets.
Wow. They charge $28 to $30 per hour with a 3 hour minimum and they pay about $16 to $18 per hour, making a $12 per hour profit on the “deal” while the employee does all the hard work and is on the hook for the emotional and physical wear and tear of such a responsibility. Sounds like a predatory business.
Huh? As the child of an elderly parent, I would be happy to pay those rates and support this business. It’s a business not a charity. Do you feel the same way about the grocery store?
And that is why it is hard to find and keep good home health care workers. Pay is too low for such hard work. There are so many other options that pay much more.
Huh? As the child of an elderly parent, I would be happy to pay those rates and support this business. It’s a business not a charity. Do you feel the same way about the grocery store?
Sounds like life. It’s a business. As an aging senior I was glad to hear about this program.
That’s America. Don’t take the job if you don’t want the pay. There are many others that need the work, both financially and mentally and who would greatly benefit from this job!
Hmmm, but the company is training staff, and I would imagine providing bonding and insurance for the staff going into someone’s home. Plus office overhead and payroll to trainers and office staff. It doesn’t appear that they are offering CNA services, more companion/helper/light housekeeping services.
I looked into Naborforce. You aren’t classified as employee but an independent contractor so you have to pay 15.3% of any earnings towards social security and medicare taxes (employer and employee part), they didn’t pay you for travel to to and from jobs (you only clocked in once you got there and when you left-verified geo location on app), and they expected you to pay for your own background check. Assuming a 15% federal tax rate, 15.3% SS and Medicare, and 5% VA tax rate, your net earnings after tax if you get the highest $18/hour are $11.65/hr. Excellent point about being covered by their insurance for any liability but as an independent contractor would you be? You might have to get your own business insurance and of course, your tax filing expenses might go up as you would have to file a schedule C if you don’t already. Didn’t seem like a good deal to me considering what they are charging the client.
This business model is so important for so many seniors and I am so glad it exists! I know that the business owners have to pay for training and admin and all kinds of things. Bravo to you for taking care of seniors in your area.