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83 year old aunt currently in rehab cannot return home without full time caregiver. She needs someone to change her, assist with meals, bath her and clean up. She is very cordial and lives alone

I have a friend who years ago went to an agency that found live in help for her Dad who had Alzheimer’s . The agency recruited a gentleman from Africa who came to do this job 24/7 . Lived in the house with the elderly man for nearly 4 years.

The aide they hired thought he had struck gold because the money he made was much more than he could make in his own country . He sent just about all his money home to support his wife and children .

The family exhausted all the elderly man’s funds and had a reverse mortgage on the house to keep their father home until he died. When he died they sold the house to satisfy the reverse mortgage . He died not long before he would have been totally broke , having nearly spent all equity he had in the house .

Not only did they have to pay the agency which in turn paid the 24/7 aide. They also paid a landscaper to take care of the yard . The family still had to take the elderly man to the doctor themselves . The family also did all the food shopping to feed both their father and his aide .
The family did not want to be responsible for the aide driving anywhere .
All the usual bills of owning a house also still had to be paid , utilities , house repairs , real estate taxes .

The aide could never leave the man alone . He did all the cooking , cleaning , laundry , took care of a difficult man , who eventually calmed down as his Alzheimer’s progressed .

All the elderly man’s money and equity in his house ( that had been mortgage free before he got ill ) was spent on his 24/7 care . It was a lot of money .

This is what having a reputable live in is like . The man got paid , got free room and food . He was paid well and he did an excellent job because it was the best money he could ever make , much more than in his own country . He felt so lucky to have the job here .

He came to the US for nearly 4 years straight , never went anywhere . Never even visited his family the whole time so he could send them his earnings .
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Reply to waytomisery
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I’m afraid if you advertise for this you’ll attract candidates for the job who are needing to get out of sticky situations or not the honest, caring figure you picture. Proceed with caution and know this is unlikely to be feasible
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Reply to Daughterof1930
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waytomisery Aug 20, 2024
I shutter at the thought of who would agree to do this for no pay , and what others may move in as well and squat .
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westaustin, welcome to the forum. You need to ask your Aunt, if the live-in caregiver doesn't get paid, then how would this caregiver be able to purchase personal items, her own health insurance, new clothing, medicine, gasoline for her vehicle, car insurance, and save for retirement?


If your Aunt cannot budget to pay a caregiver for 8 hours of care, then your Aunt can check with Medicaid (which is different from Medicare) to see what programs are available in your State.
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Reply to freqflyer
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You can’t. Unless you’re living in 1930. People don’t do this anymore.

No one will accept a “free room and board” situation. And those who do are likely shady people you don’t want staying in your home.

Having someone work for no pay is called slavery. Your aunt may not want to consider assisted living but it’s either that or you move in with her.
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Reply to LoopyLoo
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This is like saying, “where can I find someone for the equivalent of 1,000 month to be providing 12000 month of services, 11k of it for free?
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Reply to PeggySue2020
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A fulltime caregiver costs a lot more than the value of free room and board . The caregiver still needs money . No one can exist without earning money .
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Reply to waytomisery
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Better she go into care. To hire 24/7 care is expensive. Call your Labor Board to find out the laws surrounding live-in help.
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Reply to JoAnn29
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You describe a slavery situation. Caregiver must get paid but they can be charged room and board. State laws say 40 hour work week plus overtime. Workmans comp should be obtained and tax statements need to given out. what if the caregiver does not show up or calls out sick?
Your aunt will be looking at $30 to 35/ hour and minimum of 4 hours. You can go to care.com to see if several people can be set up. You will need about 4 or 5 seperate caregivers. It is much more expensive than assisted living or memory care. Can she afford it? BTW, all of her valuables will need to be secured.
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Reply to MACinCT
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You don’t.

You’re describing slavery. She’ll need to PAY for 3 shifts of caregivers everyday if she needs 24/7 care, minimum.
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Reply to ZippyZee
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Care.com , Has caregivers and Place an ad on Next door.com
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Reply to KNance72
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