Meet Assisting Hands Founder/Administrator/Director of Community Outreach, Alison Shearer.
When asked what brought Alison to Home Care, she simply says that her entire life has led her here. The oldest of 5 children and the eldest granddaughter of 26 grandchildren (just on her dad’s side), Alison grew up surrounded by family, and learned to respect and care for her elders.
At the age of 8, she started volunteering at an annual Lions Club Telethon in her hometown of Paducah, Ky, helping her grandfather, who was an International Director of Lions Club, with anything she was able to do. She continued this through college, and got her sorority involved with supporting the telethon as well.
At 12 she was a candy striper at a local hospital. In her youth she also enjoyed volunteering at her aunt’s nursing home. Her first career out of college was in broadcasting, but later spent over 20 years in pharmaceutical and medical device sales.
Alison was looking for a bigger challenge in her career, when she began to realize the calling to a Home Care vocation in 2015.
At that time her father-in-law was declining with Alzheimer’s disease, and Alison felt passionate about the idea of keeping him at home to be cared for. (She had also experienced her own grandfather’s journey with Alzheimer’s back in the 90’s)
She began to explore the possibility of owning her own business in the Home Care industry. She wanted to make sure that every senior had the opportunity to Age in Place if that was their preference.
The plight for choice in Senior Care itself was compelling to Alison by itself. But Alison was also experiencing the challenge of helping her own parents manage from a long distance. Alison’s father battles ALS. He and her mother still live in Paducah, KY, while all of their adult children are spread around the country.
Alison found her Home Care home with Assisting Hands, and owns and operates Assisting Hands Lombard. Her focus is to build a Care Team that is worthy of taking care of her own parents, and to help Seniors realize their DREAM of living quality life at home.
