More than Moving™
By Nan Hayes for Caring Transitions®
At Caring Transitions® we often refer to late life moves from one home to the next as “More than Moving™.” To put it simply, there are many complicating factors which make a “senior move” more challenging than others. Below are some of the more common issues faced by older adults and their families.
Health Issues - While many moves in late life are a matter of choice, such as moving to a warmer climate or to be near family members, other relocations are driven by changes to an individual’s health, cognitive function or mobility. Critical medical conditions cause obvious complications and may require the support of medical professionals, but milder issues such as hearing loss, arthritis and allergies also create unexpected challenges for seniors and their families.
Caring Transitions® can help: All Caring Transitions® owners and employees are specifically trained and industry certified to understand the various health and mental health issues that affect our clients. In addition to the knowledge, understanding and management of high-harm issues, Caring Transitions® has excellent partners in healthcare and housing who can provide extra support for families in need.
Stress- Moving as part of a divorce, marriage or job might be stressful if there are other changes taking place in a person’s life at the same time. However, when a person moves in late life, there are ALWAYS complicating factors, such as the death of a spouse, changes in social structure, changes to familiar environments, or the loss of health or finances. This is why seniors rank moving as the 3rd most stressful life event they experience. This stress is referred to as “Relocation Stress” and can trigger other serious symptoms in older adults, including sleeplessness, anger, anxiety, apprehension and increased confusion.
Caring Transitions® can help: Our broad range of relocation and liquidation services are specifically designed to help mitigate stress and help families overcome obstacles before, during and after a move. From our FREE in-house consultations to state-of the art job estimates, our highly qualified staff is committed to creating a stress-free experience for each and every client.
Downsizing - Moving in late life quite commonly includes changes to the size of the home. For many, this particular issue can be overwhelming, as families struggle to sort, sell, organize, honor and preserve volumes of personal possessions.
Caring Transitions® can help: As the largest and most comprehensive household goods liquidation resource in the country, Caring Transitions® offers a variety of solutions to help families “Downsize with Dignity™” through our professional estate sale, online auction, donation, removal and clean-out services.
Family Dynamics - We understand that many family caregivers lovingly provide support for their parents, but they also may experience problems as they try to balance parent care with their own busy lives. Sibling rivalries and arguments over inheritance and finances may also create unhealthy tensions that impact adult children physically, mentally and emotionally.
Caring Transitions® can help: As a qualified third party resource, Caring Transitions® removes much of the burden from family members so they can better provide support and encouragement for their parents and not become bogged down by the multitude of tasks required to downsize, declutter, organize and move an entire household.
As the nation’s largest provider of relocation, move management and household goods liquidation services, Caring Transitions® offers professional solutions and advice for these and other issues affecting older adults and their families.
Contact us today for a FREE in-home estimate.