In her 40 years as a photographer in the Denver
area, Jill Kaplan did not think she would need her social work degree.
But when it became harder to make a living as a
professional photographer, she joined a growing army of part-time workers
across the country who help older people living independently, completing
household tasks and providing companionship.
Elder concierge, as the industry is known, is a way
for the semi- and fully retired to continue to work, and, from a business
standpoint, the opportunities look as if they will keep growing. Around 10,000
people turn 65 every day in the United States, and by 2030, there will be 72
million people over 65 nationwide.
Some 43 million people already provide care to
family members — either their own parents or children — according to AARP, and
half of them are “sandwich generation” women, ages 40 to 60. All told, they
contribute an estimated $470 billion a year in unpaid assistance.
Seven years ago, Ms. Kaplan, 63, made the leap,
signing up with Denver-based Elder Concierge Services. She makes $25 to $40 an
hour for a few days a week of work. She could be driving older clients to
doctor’s appointments, playing cards or just acting as an extra set of eyes and
ears for family members who aren’t able to be around but worry about their
older relatives being isolated and alone. Many baby boomers themselves are
attracted to the work because they feel an affinity for the client base.
“It’s very satisfying,” she said of the work, which
supplements her photography income. Like others in search of additional money,
she could have become an Uber driver but said this offered her a chance to do
something “more meaningful.”
“We see a lot of women,” Ms. Kaplan said, “who had
raised their families and cared for their parents out there looking for a
purpose.”
Concierges are not necessarily social workers by
background, and there isn’t a formal licensing program. They carry out tasks or
help their customers complete the relatively mundane activities of everyday
life, and just need to be able to handle the sometimes physical aspects of the
job, like pushing a wheelchair.
Medical care is left to medical professionals.
Instead, concierges help out around the house, get their client to
appointments, join them for recreation, and run small errands. While precise statistics are not available for the
elder concierge industry, other on-demand industries have flourished, and baby
boomers are a fast-growing worker population.
Nancy LeaMond, the AARP’s executive vice president
and chief advocacy officer, said: “Everyone assumed the on-demand economy was a
millennial thing. But it is really a boomer thing.”
Ms. LeaMond noted that while people like the extra
cash, they also appreciate the “extra engagement.”
A variety of companies has sprung up, each
fulfilling a different niche in the elder concierge economy.
In some areas, elder concierges charge by the hour,
anywhere from $30 to $70, or in blocks of time, according to Katharine
Giovanni, the director of the International Concierge & Lifestyle
Management Network. Those considering going into the business should have
liability insurance, Ms. Giovanni said.
One start-up, AgeWell, employs able-bodied older
people to assist less able people of the same age, figuring the two will find a
social connection that benefits overall health.
The company was founded by Mitch Besser, a doctor
whose previous work involved putting H.I.V.-positive women together in
mentoring relationships. AgeWell employees come from the same communities as
their clients, some of whom are out of reach of medical professionals until an emergency.
The goal is to provide consistent monitoring to
reduce or eliminate full-blown crises. AgeWell began in South Africa but
recently got a grant to start a peer-to-peer companionship and wellness program
in New York.
Elsewhere, in San Francisco, Justin Lin operates
Envoy, a network of stay-at-home parents and part-time workers who accept jobs
like grocery delivery, light housework and other tasks that don’t require
medical training. Each Envoy employee is matched to a customer, who pays $18 to
$20 an hour for the service, on top of a $19 monthly fee.
The inspiration for the company came from Mr. Lin’s
work on a start-up called Mamapedia, an online parental wisdom-sharing forum,
where he noticed a lot of people talking about the need for family care
workers. He decided to start Envoy two years ago, after his own mother died of
cancer, leaving him and his father to care for a disabled brother.
The typical Envoy employee works a few hours a week,
so it won’t replace the earnings from a full-time job. But it nevertheless
involves more interpersonal contact than simply standing behind a store
counter.
“It’s not going to pay the rent,” Mr. Lin said.
“They want to be flexible but also make a difference.”
Katleen Bouchard, 69, signed up with Envoy three
years ago, after retiring from an advertising career. She gets $20 an hour
working a handful of hours a week with older clients in her rural community in
Sonoma County, Calif. She sees it as a chance to be civic-minded. “It’s very
easy to help and be of service,” Ms. Bouchard said.
Companies like AgeWell and Envoy are part of the
growing on-demand economy, where flexibility and entrepreneurship have combined
to create a new class of workers, said Mary Furlong, a Silicon Valley
consultant who specializes in the job market for baby boomers. At the same
time, many retirees — as well as those on the cusp of retirement — worry that
market volatility may hit their savings.
The extra income from the job, Ms. Furlong said,
could help cover unexpected expenses. “You don’t know what the shocks are going
to be that interrupt your plan,” she added.
Other organizations are looking to help direct older
residents to vetted local service providers.
The National Aging in Place Council, a trade group,
is developing a social worker training program with Stony Brook University. It
wants to have a dedicated set of social workers at the council, funded by
donations, who are able to field calls from seniors and their caretakers, and
make referrals to local service providers.
The council already works with volunteers and small
businesses in 25 cities to make referrals for things like home repair and
remodeling, daily money management and legal issues.
Another group, the Village to Village Network, has
small businesses and volunteers working on a similar idea: providing older
residents and their family or caretakers with referrals to vetted local
services.
In the Village to Village Network model, residents
pay an annual fee, from about $400 to $700 for individuals and more for
households. The organization so far has 25,000 members in 190 member-run
communities across the United States, and is forming similar groups overseas as
well.
“We feel like we are creating a new occupation,”
said Marty Bell, the National Aging in Place Council’s executive director.
“It’s really needed.”
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