Helping Her Grandmother Inspired Shanika to Move Into Senior Care
Shanika Young’s compassionate aura may never have glowed brighter than when she gathered up her three daughters and returned to Philadelphia about 6½ years ago to help her father take care of her grandmother, who has Alzheimer’s disease. Shanika’s grandmother is now 86 years old, and the challenges are greater, but Shanika and her father are still the primary family caregivers.
Last year, Shanika entertained a thought: Why not pursue a professional in-home senior-care job when her father is tending to her grandmother? Of course, Shanika still wanted to help her grandmother – that was never in question. But if she could find the right job, things might fall into place. On an August morning in 2021, Shanika discovered Home Instead® of Philadelphia online and applied. Four hours later, Home Instead Human Resources Assistant Samantha Brown called Shanika, who accepted a Care Professional job offer with the award-winning franchise owned by Steve Levin.
“I have been confident in my ability to care for my grandmother, and I had always wanted to get into the senior-care field,” Shanika explained. “I work for Home Instead primarily during day hours and take care of Grandma at night. My dad rearranged his job schedule to work overnights and take care of Grandma during day hours. For Home Instead, I work every day except for Sunday. The arrangement leaves me time with my grandmother and daughters.”
For Shanika, family caregiving is truly a family affair. She credits her daughters, 21 years old, 16 and 11, with lending a hand. They love the fact that their mother has a big heart and helps others; in fact, she has been an ideal role model. “My daughters are a big help and have big hearts. My oldest daughter is into caregiving, too. She has been certified to work with people with the Autistic Spectrum Disorder – children during the day and adults at night. I helped my 16-year-old get a job in daycare. I am proud of all of them,” Shanika said.
Describing how she compassionately deals with her grandmother’s Alzheimer’s disease, Shanika said, “She is pretty easy to take care of much of the time. She is at the stage of her Alzheimer’s where she does not often acknowledge conversation and doesn’t move around too much. The toughest part is when she becomes feisty and agitated. She might try to slap at you, so we back away and let her cool off and move into a happy stage. Then you can approach her.”
Shanika’s experience with her grandmother has been beneficial in her Home Instead job. Shanika has four regular clients, two of whom have dementia. “Those two are not in the later stages of the disease where my grandma is. All of my clients are pleasant and usually in a good state of mind. They are pretty awesome to assist,” Shanika said.
Shanika’s steady hand, her expertise and her winsome ways are a winning combination. In March 2022, Home Instead General Manager Charlea Lyn Grieco announced Shanika had been honored as the franchise’s Care Pro of the Month. Among the considerations for achieving Care Pro of the Month status, an employee has shown he or she has gone above and beyond the call of duty. Empathy and compassion are taken into account for the award, as well as skill and wisdom for dealing with challenging situations. Shanika embodies Home Instead’s guiding principles of “Build Trust, Take the Lead and Share Your Heart.”
Shanika said: “I want every client to have a good day with me. I let them know I am there for them, and I want them to feel good and be in a comfort zone with me. I want them to feel the respect I have for them. To build companionship and strengthen our bonding, I ask them what they did during their lives.”
She added: “I ask other questions and find out what they like to do and indulge them. One client loves watching black-and-white TV shows, so I find the channels that have them and watch those shows with her. A few clients feel lonely and need someone to talk to. They need to feel the presence of someone who wants to be with them and is interested in what they have to say. I value them, and I want them to know that.”
Shanika also values her managers. “The Home Instead staff is really great. They are uplifting. They respect me and other Care Pros. I can communicate with every member of the team. It is a good staff. I want to keep doing this job,” she said.
All Home Instead CAREGivers are screened, trained, bonded and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (215) 925-4610 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
