It takes time to sort through a lifetime of accumulated possessions, and it's not always easy to let some of them go, said Foster, who has worked as a caregiver in Missoula for several years.
A lot of seniors don't have family members living nearby, or if they do, they are not always available to help, she said. Sometimes it helps to have family members pitch in, and sometimes that only makes the move more stressful.
With all that in mind, Foster decided to start a new business, called Teresa's Moving Transition, that specializes in helping seniors relocate or downsize into smaller quarters.
It's not a moving company, she emphasized. Foster is only one person, and she can't be lifting beds and tables and other heavy furniture all by herself.
What she can do is go through an entire household's worth of items, sorting and cataloging each one, and help her clients decide what to take and what to give away - either to friends and family or to local thrift shops. In some cases, she will even organize a garage sale.
Foster also offers to measure furniture to make sure it will fit into its new space, and to help create a floor plan that takes into account a range of issues, from accessibility to outlet placement. As part of the service, she will coordinate with movers and oversee the whole operation.
Foster made sure to get fully licensed and bonded as a way of assuring her clients that they can trust her in their homes with their most prized possessions. A lot of scammers are targeting seniors these days, Foster noted, and she wants the people she works with to feel safe.
She holds a degree in social work from the University of Montana, and gained her first professional experience working with seniors as a member of AmeriCorps VISTA, a national organization that pairs service workers with community agencies serving low-income and impoverished residents.
She worked for the organization for about a year, and during that time she helped three elderly clients move into assisted living facilities.
“The first home I went into was really overwhelming,” she said. “I was sorting through their life. I had to leave after 15 or 20 minutes.”
Now she's a pro. She received her business license in February, and has since helped two clients. The second client, she remembered, called her in near panic because she was due to move into a new apartment the same week her family was stuck in Seeley Lake protecting their home from a wildfire.
Foster came to her home and helped her pack up the things she wanted to take, dusting and cleaning along the way. By the end of her visit, all the panic was gone.
“We made it fun,” she said.
She expects to grow busier as word of the business spreads. Meanwhile, Foster continues to work as a caregiver for Home Instead Senior Care, an in-home care franchise that Bonnie March and Nancy Heyer brought to Missoula in January 2004.
Missoula is seeing a slow but steady increase in the number of senior-specific businesses and services, March said. Additionally, a lot of existing businesses are tailoring themselves to appeal to older customers, she said.
“There seems to be a growing recognition of the needs of seniors, and how we can better accommodate them,” March said.
That recognition is fueled by the fact that more than
13 percent of the state's population is 65 or older, and that percentage is expected to increase with the aging of the baby boomer generation. While the nation's proportion of seniors is expanding, Montana seems to be aging at an even faster rate.
The U.S. median age, for instance, is 36.4. In Montana, it's 40.4 - and it's projected to hit 46 by 2030.
Local entrepreneurs are taking note. From housing to health, Missoula's business sector is adjusting to the shift in demand.
While there hasn't been a dramatic increase in the number of new businesses, it's clear the greatest growth has been in local services designed to help people stay in their current homes, said Susan Kohler, director of Missoula Aging Services.
At the same time, there's been a respectable expansion in senior housing, she added.
March has noticed the senior-centric trend in everything from fitness centers to pharmacies, and predicts it will only become more apparent as demand grows.
“There's a huge boom coming down the line and people are starting to line up to take care of the needs of seniors,” March said.
Foster's new business, she added, is already in demand.
“It's an awesome service and really helpful to the families,” March said. “It just takes a big load off of the family and off of the person who is doing the moving. It's not always just the senior that deals with the move, it's also the children.”
She has done a lot of research into senior transition services to try to come up with a reasonable pricing scheme, Foster said. That's how she discovered the National Association of Senior Move Managers, a nonprofit organization launched in 2002 that currently counts more than 230 members.
So far, Foster hasn't been able to track down any members in Montana. She did find a woman in New York who charges $75, “but this is Montana,” she said.
Consequently, her fee varies according to what needs to be done, although she tries to stick to a $15 minimum. It's not easy, considering many seniors are on a fixed income, she added. Eventually, she'd like to make it a nonprofit.
“The baby boomers are coming of age, so as time goes on there will be a rising demand,” she predicted. “It's a new industry, and it's turning out to be a pretty big one.”
Reporter Tyler Christensen can be reached at 523-5215 or tyler.christensen@lee.net
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