| Downsizing seniors count on Marsha's Helping Hands
By Barbara Silverstein, The Canadian Jewish News
When Marsha Silverberg began her career staging houses for real estate agents, she noticed that many of the elderly clients listing their homes were distressed about moving.
"It became extremely apparent that these fragile people needed a lot more than having their homes stages for resale. Through conversation I noticed a common thread," she says.
"They felt they were losing control of their lives and losing their identity by moving from a larger to a smaller space. Selling their homes was like they were letting go of their security blanket."
These observations led Silverberg to set up Marsha's Helping Hands (647-886-5437), which is geared specifically to helping seniors make the physical transition from their old to their new home, she explains.
"I jumped into a new business because I could see people overwhelmed by the changes. They were very anxious about where their possessions would go, where their heirloom furniture would end up."
Silverberg can help a senior move through all the stages of downsizing and relocating, from sorting and packing up their belongings to unpacking and setting up the new home.
"I'm super organized and very compassionate," she says. "I work with distressed older adults whose families may not be available to participate in their transition to a new home. I provide a friendly, reliable and efficient service.
"What sets me apart from other packers is my empathy. I do this job with my heart and soul, as if I was packing up my own mother."
She notes that sometimes asult children initiate the contact with Marsha's Helping Hands. "Many children hire me because packing up their elderly parents can be an emotionally and physically draining endeavour."
The service starts with a consultation. Then Silverberg, who usually works on an hourly rate with an assistant, will get down "on her hands and knees and go through the house layer by layer," to phsyically sort and organize a client's belongings. She dispenses with items that must be discarded, given away or sold, and packs up the rest for the move.
"I go through their possessions and organize their lives. I try to help them decide which things to keep or let go. You have to be very sensitive. Rather than say 'You won't be needing the frying pan,' I say, 'You can let this go. You've done enough cooking for your family. Now it's time for someone to cook for you.'"
Silverberg can call a vintage furniture company or run garage and content sales to help the elderly person sell their valuables.
She notes that on the cover of her brochure is a picture of her parents because she created Marsha's Helping Hands as a way of honouring them. "My parents were Holocaust survivors. They were always there for me."
At the retirement home or new condo, her skills as a professional house stager also come in handy if she is asked to unpack and set up the new residence.
Although most seniors move because of personal losses, usually in health and mobility, or the death of a spouse, Silverberg aims to bolster her clients' confidence about making the transition to the new home. "I try to inspire them about looking forward to the next stage in their lives," she says.
"I make a scrapbook of the hand-chosen pictures that reflect their life history. We go through their pictures together as I am sorting. I present them with a beautiful photo album for their new home which they can put by their bedside."
Marsha's Helping Hands makes the difficult task of downsizing and relocating as positive as possible for clients, says Silverberg, adding that she finds the work very rewarding.
"It's fulfilling for me. I have made a bond with the elderly client through our time spent together," she says.
"I've also helped a family that was very overwhelmed to pack up their loved one." |
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