Liz T. Care Companion in Saint Paul, MN 55116

I have with a strong passion and past experience in working in human services, especially with the elderly. I'm also a big dog-lover, having my own side business of dog walking and dog sitting.

I've worked with elderly population in some capacity since 1989, when my 6th grade class visited a care center on a weekly basis. There, I spent quality time with my adopted grandmother chatting, playing cards, or helping her write letters to her friends and family. Also at a young age, I completed chores for an elderly blind woman in my neighborhood.

In 2003, I was a live-in caretaker for an elderly woman with a physical disability, such that she could remain in her beloved home. There, I provided medication reminders, as well as homemaking, cleaning, errand-running, and - most importantly - companionship.

Since December of 2005, I’ve been performing vocal and piano music in care centers, retirement communities, and assisted living facilities around the Twin Cities. I’ve found that music is therapy, and have a knack for (and love of) interacting with seniors in this capacity. In 2007, my senior home singing led me naturally into a position with a suburban nursing home
as an activities assistant.

My career the last decade or so has been working with adults living with mental illness, both in assisted living facilities, temporary living facilities, and in the community, providing direct care and mental health navigation services.

Most recently, I provided care and companionship for a 4-year-old boy this past month. But it is working with and being with seniors that comes most easily and naturally to me, and I don’t view it as work; it’s more play!