We have someone who just does a bit of driving for my mom, errands plus helps put groceries away and a bit of light housekeeping. Using Assisting Hands. They charge $38 per hour and I was told that the minimum was 4 hour shift, 3x a week to make it worthwhile for the same person to come.

Maybe a college student would do less hours on a flexible schedule.

Is your mom at Knollwood? If so there are private duty aides there who may be able to take on more work. Find out who others are using.

Maybe post on the neighborhood list serve and a nanny who is available for an hour or two while her charges are in pre-school or school would be interested.

I would call an agency and hire a home aide for two 4 hour shifts a week. You want someone who is experienced, not a high school student. If she’s having trouble with those kinds of tasks she could probably also use help bathing, managing medications, going to the doctors office. Someone could help make sure she has nutritious food that is easy to heat up and eat. You’re not gonna find somebody who wants to come for an hour here or there, & you want somebody who does this professionally.

How about posting at AU, GW, Catholic or Georgetown? Might be a good way for a college or grad student to pick up some extra cash.

If she’s in an elder care facility I would just start with talking to the staff and other residents. Maybe someone who already works there who she likes will want to pick up a few extra hours.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hello,

We are looking for someone to be able to help with minor daily tasks. My mom has low vision and gets out of breath, even a high schooler could help her out immensely. Changing lightbulbs, going through mail, picking things up from the floor, reading directions on microwavable food. She is very funny. I think just one or two hours every other day is all she needs.

Please let me know if you know of anyone who could help in the area.

Thank you.

Those are not a lot of hours for someone who earns their living this way.

NP — sometimes all that’s needed is someone to come a couple times a week for an hour or so. Why do people expect every little task request to be some full time thing? $20/hr to visit and do simple things like change a light bulb, sort mail, etc. seems more than reasonable. OP isn’t asking for home care.

Well, again, most people who work these jobs need to earn a living. OP's mom does not live in a transit-friendly neighborhood, so it's not so easy to pop over and do the task. Twenty bucks for what could be 3 hours w/travel = $6.66/hour. DC minimum wage is $17/hour. Makes more sense for someone to find a job that covers multiple hours/day then giving up three hours where they only get paid for one.

It's supply/demand.

Agreed. The only way just an hour or two works is if the caregiver lives very close by—like less than a few minutes walk. Anything more than that, and anything involving any driving, is just not going to be worth it.
I googled the address and see that it’s a home for elderly people. Maybe if several residents got together to hire someone- so the companion has several clients she visits for an hour to make it 4+ hours in one shot, that could potentially work. But no one is going to go out for just one hour.

That is a great idea - could be open for abuse, but still possibly viable. If three-four residents pooled funds and hired someone to come 2x/week for 8 hours each shift (or 4 hours but may need to pay slightly more per hour), then that may be very appealing for a caregiver looking to pick up 1-2+ days/week of paid work.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hello,

We are looking for someone to be able to help with minor daily tasks. My mom has low vision and gets out of breath, even a high schooler could help her out immensely. Changing lightbulbs, going through mail, picking things up from the floor, reading directions on microwavable food. She is very funny. I think just one or two hours every other day is all she needs.

Please let me know if you know of anyone who could help in the area.

Thank you.

Those are not a lot of hours for someone who earns their living this way.

NP — sometimes all that’s needed is someone to come a couple times a week for an hour or so. Why do people expect every little task request to be some full time thing? $20/hr to visit and do simple things like change a light bulb, sort mail, etc. seems more than reasonable. OP isn’t asking for home care.

Well, again, most people who work these jobs need to earn a living. OP's mom does not live in a transit-friendly neighborhood, so it's not so easy to pop over and do the task. Twenty bucks for what could be 3 hours w/travel = $6.66/hour. DC minimum wage is $17/hour. Makes more sense for someone to find a job that covers multiple hours/day then giving up three hours where they only get paid for one.

It's supply/demand.

Agreed. The only way just an hour or two works is if the caregiver lives very close by—like less than a few minutes walk. Anything more than that, and anything involving any driving, is just not going to be worth it.
I googled the address and see that it’s a home for elderly people. Maybe if several residents got together to hire someone- so the companion has several clients she visits for an hour to make it 4+ hours in one shot, that could potentially work. But no one is going to go out for just one hour.

Op you could try care.com or an agency but I suspect:
A) no one wants to work a 1-2 hour shift anywhere
B) if your mom needs help reading food directions and picking things up off the floor, that’s really more than companion care.

There are two checklists that might be helpful to review - ADLs and IADLs. That will help you assess where your mom is at and describe her needs to caregivers.

Good luck! I hope you find the unicorn situation that works with someone who wants short shifts. Sometimes it works out! If you find that, it will probably be word of mouth so just tell everyone you know what you’re looking for.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hello,

We are looking for someone to be able to help with minor daily tasks. My mom has low vision and gets out of breath, even a high schooler could help her out immensely. Changing lightbulbs, going through mail, picking things up from the floor, reading directions on microwavable food. She is very funny. I think just one or two hours every other day is all she needs.

Please let me know if you know of anyone who could help in the area.

Thank you.

Those are not a lot of hours for someone who earns their living this way.

NP — sometimes all that’s needed is someone to come a couple times a week for an hour or so. Why do people expect every little task request to be some full time thing? $20/hr to visit and do simple things like change a light bulb, sort mail, etc. seems more than reasonable. OP isn’t asking for home care.

Well, again, most people who work these jobs need to earn a living. OP's mom does not live in a transit-friendly neighborhood, so it's not so easy to pop over and do the task. Twenty bucks for what could be 3 hours w/travel = $6.66/hour. DC minimum wage is $17/hour. Makes more sense for someone to find a job that covers multiple hours/day then giving up three hours where they only get paid for one.

It's supply/demand.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hello,

We are looking for someone to be able to help with minor daily tasks. My mom has low vision and gets out of breath, even a high schooler could help her out immensely. Changing lightbulbs, going through mail, picking things up from the floor, reading directions on microwavable food. She is very funny. I think just one or two hours every other day is all she needs.

Please let me know if you know of anyone who could help in the area.

Thank you.

Those are not a lot of hours for someone who earns their living this way.

NP — sometimes all that’s needed is someone to come a couple times a week for an hour or so. Why do people expect every little task request to be some full time thing? $20/hr to visit and do simple things like change a light bulb, sort mail, etc. seems more than reasonable. OP isn’t asking for home care.

Post on the neighborhood email group.

Anonymous wrote:Hello,

We are looking for someone to be able to help with minor daily tasks. My mom has low vision and gets out of breath, even a high schooler could help her out immensely. Changing lightbulbs, going through mail, picking things up from the floor, reading directions on microwavable food. She is very funny. I think just one or two hours every other day is all she needs.

Please let me know if you know of anyone who could help in the area.

Thank you.

Those are not a lot of hours for someone who earns their living this way.

Hello,

We are looking for someone to be able to help with minor daily tasks. My mom has low vision and gets out of breath, even a high schooler could help her out immensely. Changing lightbulbs, going through mail, picking things up from the floor, reading directions on microwavable food. She is very funny. I think just one or two hours every other day is all she needs.

Please let me know if you know of anyone who could help in the area.

Thank you.