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New senior’s transportation service launched in Caledon




Written By KIRA WRONSKA DORWARD

A new senior's transportation service has been developed in Caledon

Jane Mountain is the owner of Door to Door and More Inc.

Door to Door and More Inc., provides personalized one-on-one transportation in a safe and comfortable senior-friendly vehicle for those retired from driving, accompaniment for seniors who need a hand during errands and in-home non-medical support for caregiving and home maintenance.    

 Mountain started the business after her father, a fourth-generation dairy farmer in Caledon, was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 85 in 2009.

“For the most part, he was alright,” said Mountain. “He was 85 and he would have these episodes once a week, but he and my mom seemed able to deal with that and we had medical care and knew what to expect, but I was on call if they needed me.”

Mountain was working and living in Toronto for about 10 years. Her father's illness deteriorated prompting her to take a fourt month leave of absence from work to care for her father.

 “One day I was with my parents for about four days and my dad was really struggling and my mom was struggling as well, because she was also old, healthy, but just three years younger,” said Mountain. “I went back to Toronto and I got a call that night and they said can you please come back again? I went back home and when I walked in the door, they just seemed so frail and clearly things were happening that were beyond their control.” 

She saw that dishes weren't done, her parents weren't eating well and her mother, who dresses well, looked unkempt. 

Mountain said they need more than what she could do. This prompt her to quit her job and move back to the farm for good. 

Her father's physician was at Civic Hospital in Brampton. Mountain would drive him there and help navigate him throughout the hospital, up three floors and down numerous halls.

“I was with him and helped him throughout all those spaces and waited in line until he had to actually talk to someone for him,” said Mountain. “I went into the medical appointments, took all the notes, because my dad was not well and my mom was stressed. Honestly, but the time we went to the car they couldn't remember what was said in the doctor's appointments.”

Mountain took over for her parents because they couldn't function on their own, getting their groceries, for example.

As all of this is going on, she thinks she can't be the only one having to take care of her senior parents.

Mountain was teaching English as a Second Language part-time in the evenings to adults at the Upper Grand District School Board at the time.

“The work is permanent there but I started to think seriously about this problem, and I thought that I can actually do something about this,” said Mountain. “I am doing it with my parents and if there are other people that need help, I think I can help.”

She talked over the idea with her family and didn't get going on the idea until her father passed away, six years ago, in May.

Mountain went to the Brampton Entrepreneurs Centre who liked her idea. They told her to do research and find out the statistics of seniors in Caledon, their needs and services already available, among many other things. She enrolled in the four-month small business accelerator program.

“It's very intensive and you go through seminars that are all mandatory,” said Mountain. “There's about 16 or 20 of them.”

It was all about building a small business and developing a business plan. She said there were about 70 people in the program and by the time it was over, there was only 15 remaining. 

She would teach her classes and then work on the business plan during her free time. They had to get over 80 per cent to be invited back by esteemed entrepreneurs. 

“They did invite me back, I did pitch the idea and I won an award for $5,000,” said Mountain. 

“More than the money, I thought they believed in it. They see it and they believed in it and that's worth more to me than the money. I'm not the only one who believes in this, they see it.”

Mountain hopes to empower seniors aging at home to be more independent and support adult children of seniors by giving them a break, and the space they need to remain engaged in their own lives.

Door to Door & More Inc. serves seniors living anywhere in Caledon, Orangeville, Hockley, Mono, Tottenham, Bellwood, Halton Hills (Georgetown, Glen Williams, Terra Cotta, Ballinafad, Limehouse,), Erin, Brucedale, and locations around and between these towns and villages.

Mountain is First Aid, CPR and AED (Automated External Defibrillator) trained, has an OPP Vulnerable Sector Check, can provide a driver's abstract form the Ministry of Transportation available upon request and is fully insured to transport passengers and to assist in the home

For more information, call Mountain at 905-586-5868, visit www.doortodoorandmore.com, email doortodoorandmore@yahoo.com or visit their Facebook at www.facebook.com/doortodoorandmoreseniors

Post date: 2019-06-06 11:19:31
Post date GMT: 2019-06-06 15:19:31
Post modified date: 2019-06-06 11:19:40
Post modified date GMT: 2019-06-06 15:19:40
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