Movers Who Help Their Customers Stay at Home

When Dave Feldman and his two siblings sat down with their aging parents to have, as he described it, “the life decisions kind of conversation all families need to have,” the question was raised: Should they remain in their home?

Mr. Feldman’s parents, Lawrence, now 89, and Enid, 85, are retired schoolteachers. At the time of the conversation two years ago, they had been living in a two-bedroom apartment in Long Beach, N.Y., for nearly 15 years. The elder Mr. Feldman was becoming reliant on a motorized scooter.

“Mom said it might be nice if they could be somewhere where they could accommodate Dad,” his son said. “He said, ‘No, I want to stay home.’ ”

In the parlance of elder care, the Feldmans were choosing to “age in place.” For them to do so, the family realized after subsequent discussions, modifications would have to be made to their cramped, cluttered apartment. They turned to a senior mover — someone skilled at helping older adults downsize to smooth the transition to a smaller home or a senior living facility, or, in this case, to stay put.

Studies by AARP and others consistently show that a significant majority of older adults want to remain in their homes as long as possible. On balance, public health and elder care professionals say that is a positive trend.

“Independence has become the gold standard for successful aging,” said Kali Thomas, an aging-in-place specialist and assistant professor at Brown University’s School of Public Health. “It’s a worthy goal to choose.”

But she cautions, it is not one easily achieved. Many older people have health problems or economic issues that force them to remain at homes where the responsibilities for maintenance can be overwhelming — a situation that, she said, has been called “stuck in place.”

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