The concept behind Seniors Helping Seniors is quite simple. The seniors that receive help are also benefiting from the companionship they receive from someone near their own age. The seniors that offer their help are not only assisting someone in need but giving support to a senior that needs a little friendship from someone that knows what they’re going through. It’s an important connection, one that has helped this business become the helping hand it is today.
We recently spoke with Lynn Svindland of Seniors Helping Seniors about their service and their franchise opportunity.
Tell us a little about Seniors Helping Seniors.
Seniors Helping Seniors in-home services matches seniors who want to provide help with seniors who are looking for help. We started in 1998 with a simple concept that seniors can help each other age better and that those who give and those who receive benefit equally. As an innovative, intra-generational companion service that functions exclusively with and for seniors, we provide:
An experienced and credible resource for older adults who want to stay in their own homes
Full-range of home care, companion and home maintenance support services from seniors who enjoy helping
Reasonable hourly rates for seniors who want services and reasonable hourly wages to seniors who provide them
Our senior helpers can assist with all the things you need — light housekeeping, cooking, shopping, mowing the lawn, getting you to the doctor, or even just changing a light bulb – and they do it with love. That’s why we say it’s just like getting a little help from your friends.
We personally match you with companions who will fit your personality and needs. And, we work the way it works best for you. Our seniors are available for you every day, any hour of the week and even overnight.
What we have discovered is that the people who use our in-home senior services come to love the people who provide our services. It’s about getting the help and so much more — it’s about adding joy and companionship back into life. We hear over and over again from those who receive our services that: we change people’s lives.
What inspired it?
Seniors Helping Seniors in-home services was co-founded by Kiran and Philip Yocom created from Kiran Yocom’s personal mission to care for those who are unable to care for themselves. Before coming to the United States from India, Kiran worked with Mother Teresa for 14 years. Currently, Kiran serves as our organization’s Chairwoman, and Philip as the President/CEO of our organization.
How much does your service cost?
Our services are affordable ranging from hourly to 24/7 care. We also provide hourly service for Doctor appointments. We have a low 2 hour minimum. Rates vary with location and type of service.
How does someone become a helper?
We know that for the right people being a senior helping other seniors is really a very rewarding position… a way to give and to receive.
Work as much or as little as you want.
We are always looking for loving, giving, caring, compassionate people to work with our seniors. Each of our helpers works as many hours a week as he or she wants.
Supplement your income.
Most of the people who work with us were looking for volunteer jobs, seeking activities that would add meaning to their lives. Working as a senior helping other seniors means you will be making an important contribution. It also provides you with an hourly wage that can help cover the extras.
No experience necessary. But lots of heart required.
We’d like to talk to you if you can offer companionship or a particular service. Many of our seniors who help out are recently retired or on a reduced work schedule and have never done anything like this before. But they all come to the work full of heart and caring. Find out more about whether you can qualify to be a senior provider or if you’d like to start a center in your town. Email us [email protected] or fill in the contact form.
Tell us a little about your business opportunity.
“The joy of bringing people together… of providing services that are truly needed and adding support and love to the lives of others…all really fulfills the definition of a rewarding life. It is truly…a way to give and to receive.”
Seniors Helping Seniors non-medical home services are given by loving, caring, compassionate seniors who truly understand what it means to be aging. These older adults provide both the physical and emotional help seniors need to live independently in their own homes with dignity and respect.
People 85+ are the fastest growing age group in the US and over half of them need some level of personal care. The number of people who need help continues to expand rapidly; and as the population continues to age, the growing demand for the Seniors Helping Seniors business becomes even more evident.
The U.S. Department of Labor predicts that very soon, 54 percent of our work force will be involved in caring for an older person. You can probably list the people you know personally, right now, who are faced with the challenges and concerns of caring for an aging parent.
Not only does Seniors Helping Seniors services provide valuable support for seniors, we also relieve the day-to-day stress on overwhelmed family members. To meet this growing demand we continue to recruit more senior helpers who benefit personally from receiving additional income as well as from the rewards of helping. Seniors Helping Seniors in-home services is in the right place at the right time. There is no doubt we are positioned for exciting growth. All the members of our management team have many years of experience providing exactly the kind of service seniors and their families need. We know how to manage the operations of the Seniors Helping Seniors business effectively and how to successfully build a strong franchise community.
For you, this means easy entry into your market and a high-level of ongoing support. You will get the know-how you need to get started and to create a dynamic business.
If you are looking for financial growth and personal satisfaction, join our Seniors Helping Seniors franchise network. Become part of one of the fastest growing service opportunities in the Boomer market. You will receive substantial rewards for your bottom line and for your heart.
Find out more about whether you can qualify to be a franchise partner and start a center in your town. Email us [email protected]
What are your requirements?
This depends on what you have in place. Our partners need an office at home. The cost of starting will vary based on what you need. We feel that the first year range should be $40,000 – $60,000 to get your business started including, startup, marketing and franchise Investment.
How many locations do you currently have?
We currently have 100 territories throughout the country and are in 30 states.
In what ways has it grown/evolved since you first launched?
Starting as one single woman’s vision in 1998 and now a reality for so many, Seniors Helping Seniors in-home services vividly demonstrates we truly can do well by doing good. As one of the original Partners, I have watched this incredible community grow. We have people that have come together to do something they feel good about at this stage in their lives. Our Partners come from all background and the experience of all has grown us to where we are and where we are going. We all have a special reason we want to help Seniors.
What are some of the lessons your business has taught you?
I have learned how difficult it is for a loved who is starting to need help. All of the seniors we help have cared for everyone else all their lives(spouses, parents children), it is very difficult for them to ask for help. When someone who understands what it is like to get older comes to help , it really can be a loving relationship. I have also realized how much we help the working children of our Seniors. It is peace of mind to know someone is caring for your parent while you are at work or taking care of your own family. It relieves the guilt that you can’t always be there.
Any tips you’d like to offer anyone that might be considering the
opportunity with Seniors Helping Seniors?
Understand your reasons for wanting to do something different than you have been doing. Get all the information you can about the industry of Home Care. Ask questions. Be sure that you are the loving, caring compassionate person we are looking for. You need to really know that this business is something you and put your heart and soul into. We are changing people lives. The whole family sees how we help their loved ones. Look deep inside yourself and find out what you are looking for in an opportunity. If you choose to find out more about SHS, our process will allow us to find out is this is the right thing for to do together. Your success is our success. Our support is incredible. We all help each other.
If you are looking for financial growth and personal satisfaction, join our Seniors Helping Seniors franchise network. Become part of one of the fastest growing service opportunities in the Boomer market. You will receive substantial rewards for your bottom line and for your heart.