Elder Love USA is not your typical in-home caregiving service for older adults. Elder Love USA, is a nonprofit corporation that helps older adults remain safely in their homes by providing low-cost in-home care. As a nonprofit, they are able to provide care at a reduced rate. Elder Love is a new, innovative and creative solution to helping older adults who are above the poverty line. Elder Love USA specifically seeks to help those who are above the poverty line, but are unable to pay for private in-home care. Founding executive director, Shannon Shea, saw a large gap in services for those adults who did not qualify for IHSS (free in-home care from the County), yet did not have any discretionary funds to help them in their home. Shea recently received her master’s degree in social work with a focus on gerontology from Louisiana State University.
As Shea points out, thousands of older adults in the Coachella Valley do not have the money to pay for private in-home care and they are left alone in their homes to fend for themselves. They may be unable to shop, cook, get their medication, change their sheets, do their laundry, or clean their bathroom. That is why Shea founded Elder Love USA. Elder Love USA provides the needed care and assistance to help this forgotten group of older adults remain safe in their home. They save lives by ensuring that their clients take their medication, have food in their refrigerator, have a safe home free of trip hazards, stay clean by bathing them and provide companionship so that they know they are not alone and forgotten. Elder Love USA also collaborates with other local nonprofits and businesses to provide their clients with complete and well-rounded case management. As one community supporter commented “older adults enrich our lives with stories and insights from generations we were not able to see and live through ourselves.” Shea could not agree more.
Unlike other caregiving companies, Elder Love USA has no minimum hours required and costs do not go up as the level of care goes up. As a nonprofit, the flat hourly rate fluxuates with the funds they have available. As of this writing, their flat rate in the Coachella Valley is hovering around $20/hour. The more they are able to get the word out about their cause through word-of-mouth and fundraising efforts, the more they can drop their hourly rate and the more people they can help. To learn more about Elder Love USA, visit www.ElderLoveUSA.org or call 909-693-8874.
