Hello! I’m looking for someone who is interested in being a back up helper for my caregivers. You wouldn't have to be trained as a caregiver or be involved in my hands on care. I could have someone else do those things. What I need is someone to pop by and heat up my meals for me and put them out (they are already prepared), refill my water, do basic household tasks like tidy up the kitchen or unload or load the dishwasher, and help with the odds and ends I need help with in the moment. I may occasionally need someone to pick up groceries or food for me, or a prescription at the pharmacy.
I am a disabled female science educator/ musician and artist in my late-40s who uses a wheelchair. I don't have much use of my hands, so I need help with almost all aspects of my life and health at my home in Brattleboro. I currently have a team of caregivers that help me with all aspects of my care, but life happens and sometimes someone is sick and unable to come in. I am looking for someone with a very flexible schedule, that would like to earn some money occasionally helping me when I have no coverage. Sometimes this could be scheduled in advance if I know someone will be out, and sometimes I might reach out in the morning and ask if you are available later on in the day. I can usually be flexible about the timing.
Depending on my needs and your schedule, we could talk about how long you would be here. At the shortest, getting out my food and water might take 15 or 20 minutes, and I could pay you a flat rate for that to make it worth your while. You could also stay longer and help with household things or anything else I need help with. But at the least, I only need 15 minutes, so you could squeeze it in on your way to or from some thing if you live nearby! I live in Brattleboro, so it would be ideal if you lived local also.
I am also separately hiring for someone else to do regularly scheduled shifts with more of a caregiver aspect of things, so if you are interested in that and want more training, we could also have you be part of the regular schedule.
Just some background about how it works: Generally each day I have two different caregivers come, one who covers breakfast and lunch, and the other one who covers dinner. So you would be filling in for one of those shifts, and the other person could cover the other and do all the skilled things, which is why this particular role doesn't require much training, although you certainly could if you want to.
I have an injury that makes talking difficult for long periods of time, so I communicate quite a bit with text and I dictate notes for people. So you would have plenty of instructions when you get here and we could text back-and-forth and talk a little bit if needed.
You should be reliable, trustworthy, honest, detail-oriented, caring, and a good communicator.
My goal is to hire someone who would stay in this job for at least six months or longer, ideally longer than that, so that we can build a relationship. Pay is $20-30 per hour (based on experience), or a flat rate that we can negotiate if less than an hour. There is the possibility for bonuses and raises over time.
We follow COVID protocols and this is a safe working environment. I am vaccinated and you need to be as well. My caregivers wear masks in the home because I am immunocompromised.
Please respond telling us a little bit about yourself and why this job is of interest to you, and what your availability is.
Thanks so much and I look forward to speaking with you!
