Eva Sharpe, Lansing, MI is a family caregiver, raised among an extended family of primarily Mexican descent that modeled caregiving for elders. She started helping her grandmother when she was age 12 and now cares for her uncle who has mild dementia. The family respite it provides makes home care possible. Family caregivers differ from […]
Richard Dusenbury, Ferndale, MI has been a DCW since age 20 when he took care of his grandmother. He is a certified nursing assistant, medical assistant, photography buff, speaks fluent French, and does mission work in Ghana with his church. He’s a DCW because he likes people, it reflects his Christian values, it allows him […]
Manila Freeman, Detroit, MI, retired from the Detroit school system as a GED specialist. Like many DCWs, she started as a family caregiver, caring for her brother, a disabled Veteran with multiple needs. After he moved in, she learned that “an agency” had signed him up for assistance and made her the paid homecare worker. […]
Kelli Holmgren, Battle Creek, MI started as a Certified Nursing Assistant in 1993 after a few tries as a “factory rat”. She discovered she “can’t do the mundane things over and over and over. It’s just not me. I fit helping people.” She is now a “rehab home health aide” who can make it financially, […]
Aria Porraz, Kalamazoo, MI, self-identifies as Hispanic and is an education major at Western Michigan University. She has been working as a DCW for 2 years to pay rent while in college, plans to work with children, loves animals, reading and yoga, and works full-time for a home care agency that provided training on specific […]
Heather Zielinski, Belmont, MI, a certified medical assistant who self identifies as Cherokee, loves to read and learn about history and other cultures, and feels working with people who are dying is a privilege. She has been “screamed at, spit at, sworn at, swung at, stuck with a needle, worked with a convicted pedophile, and […]
Sue Fierro, Lansing, MI, has been in home care for over 20 years. She entered the field because it seemed like a good fit with her desire to help people and it didn’t require a college degree. Her first experiences were frightening because she was sent to homes without sufficient training to care for clients […]
Shelia Wedell, Escanaba, MI bubbles with life. She raises doves, is active in church with bible study and teaching Sunday school, has taken up gardening, and loves time with her grandkids. She is a self-described people person, confident, entrepreneurial, and boisterous. She got into DCW work at age 10 when she started a “pooper scooper” […]
Vernette Mahone, Detroit, MI, graduated from high school while raising two children and went on to become a certified Computer Technician. During this time her mother became ill and Vernette was determined to take care of her, but it was hard as a teen mom working and attending school. She has done PCA work ever […]
Maria Cosper, Lansing, MI helps care for her 87-year old father-in-law who has lived for 8 years with her and her husband. He still drives and is fairly independent. She also helps her husband’s mother and step-father who live next door. Her mother-in-law has Alzheimer’s disease and needs 24-hour care. In addition, she and her […]
