Have you heard any of the following lines or have you said them?

Help, I need to move mom and/or dad to a smaller home. 

Where do I start the process to get mom and dad moved into an assisted living facility?

Who do I call to help move mom and dad? What should I do with all their stuff?

Where do I start with this move process, and how do I select where mom and/or dad should go?

The above are just a few questions commonly asked among adult daughters and adult sons when they have to move their aging parents. This is not an easy task, as more than likely, they have spent the last 30, 40, or 50 years in their current home. Lots of years in one home, equals lots of things accumulated over that time. Get the picture? Now where do you start?

5 Steps to Help Move Mom or Dad to a New Living Arrangement

• Select a Move Manager or Senior Advocate

Selecting a Senior Advocate or move manager is difficult. This is out of your comfort zone. Welcome to the club! Most people do not know they need an advocate until something drastic has happened with their aging parents.

 For example, mom is at home doing her usual tasks and falls while going out to the garage to get something.  She suffers a broken hip and she realizes that maybe the house she raised her four kids in is too much for her now. This presents a situation that is all too common among aging adults and their adult children. 

Some people figure that downsizing will come while others continue to live in their current house and keep up with all the care, until it is just too much for them or something drastic happens. Try to find an advocate while your parents are able to make decisions and physically mobile to meet different people and visit different locations to find the best new living facility. Senior Living Options is a senior living advocate that can help you find the right living arrangements for your aging parents.

• Determine Goals for Parents with the Senior Advocate

Setting up the plan or goals for mom or dad can be overwhelming with so many options available. Senior advocates can guide you each step of the way and answer all the hard questions you may have. For example, you want them to be most comfortable in the next stage of living, but what does that mean? Do they need independent living in a smaller environment or are they to the point an assisted living facility would work best. An advocate can help you determine the right place and help you look at all the fine details of every option. Usually they have questions that will help guide you and get you to the place best for mom and/or dad and ultimately that means best for you too. 

Try not to get overwhelmed or frustrated but work with your senior advocate to find the best solution. Senior Living Options does this all for you and it is FREE! That is a game changer! Senior Living Options is dedicated to helping you assist mom or dad’s transition to an environment that is welcoming and suited to their lifestyle needs. 

• Explore All Your Options

Making time to research and then visit all your options can be a daunting and potentially overwhelming task. This is where a senior advocate can help navigate the down and dirty work and help save you time researching and finding the best fit for your aging loved one. Once the list of locations is narrowed down, you can then visit them together with the advocate making sure all the questions are asked and answered and more importantly you get the information you need to make a decision.  

• Reduce the Stress with Help

Bottomline. With a trusted advocate advising you during the quest to find a new home for mom or dad, you will relax and be less stressed. You will have someone in your corner helping you get through each step of relocating mom or dad and making sure they can live the next phase of life as gracefully as possible. A senior advocate will look at the whole picture from the best location, finances, and living facility to help you feel comfortable and assured mom or dad are safe and cared for at their new place.

• Make the Final Move

You and your advocate have done the research, found the place that best fits your needs, and now it is time to move. Remember, this is a positive experience and the move will help mom or dad live their next chapter more comfortably. Your advocate can help with the move-in process and make you and your parents feel at ease. Many advocates continue to check-in with you and mom or dad to make sure your move is a success. 

Looking to find some assistance with mom or dad on the next phase of living? Senior Living Options is here for you. We welcome the opportunity to help you in your senior care search. Our services cover all of Connecticut, including Fairfield, Litchfield, Hartford, Middlesex, and New London counties; New York City; and New York’s Westchester and Putnam counties. Contact Ann today at Senior Living Options and she will help guide you through the process for the next steps of aging for your loved one.

Author: Ann Jamison

Ann Jamison is an experienced senior advisor who has successfully worked with hundreds of families to help them find the best care and home-like environment for themselves or their loved ones. Prior to launching Senior Living Options, Ann was an eldercare advisor for a national placement agency and served as sales director at a senior living community. Thanks to her 25-year career in advertising sales and marketing, Ann is able to discern between hype and reality for her clients. Ann recognizes that there are objective factors that need to be weighed when making a life-changing decision, but she can also assess the important softer attributes by getting to know her clients and by using the gut instincts that can only come through extended experience.