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A local organization is lending help around the house for area residents who need a hand.
Clients with Rock County Opportunities of Luverne are completing light housekeeping chores and laundering services for local residents for a fee.
“We clean floors, bathrooms, vacuum or whatever is needed, depending on the household,” said RCO Administrative Director Adria Benson. “We don’t do dishes.”
RCO pairs clients and their abilities with employment opportunities like laundry service that includes pick-up and drop-off of laundry.
For its cleaning services. a three- or four-person team with a staff member completes housecleaning tasks within an hour. They also clean for area businesses.
Laundry services were recently added along with document shredding for individuals and businesses.
“Our (RCO) clients are ready,” Benson said.
RCO partners with Essential Senior Services
A partnership with a private business helped kick off the laundry service.
Last fall RCO completed a pilot grant with Essential Senior Services, a private errand service started by Marriah Aggen from her home near Rushmore.
Aggen started her business in November 2020 specifically for seniors 60 and older to stay in their homes longer.
“Because it was the first year of Covid, there was a huge need to complete personal shopping and errands for senior adults,” she said.
Aggen worked more than a decade at long-term care facilities, where she witnessed how much residents missed the independence of living in their own homes.
Many of those residents could have stayed in their homes longer if someone could have completed small tasks for them on a regular basis.
Often the tasks fell to family members, who quickly became overwhelmed or lived too far away to help on a regular basis.
A desire to begin her own business prompted Aggen to start Essential Senior Services from her home. She focused on shopping for groceries and personal items, pharmacy pickups, stops at the post office or picking up pet supplies.
Within weeks Aggen noticed that clients also needed light housekeeping and laundry help.
She subcontracted with RCO in Luverne and Advanced Opportunities in Worthington to complete in-house tasks.
A $25,000 grant from Minnesota River Area Agency on Aging in 2021 allowed Aggen to expand her offerings through subcontracted services that included laundry in Adrian.
“People were reluctant at first to hand off their laundry, but once they tried the service, they were OK with it,” she said.
Commercial-sized machines at RCO allowed large items such as comforters and rugs to be laundered with ease. The pick-up and drop-off service returned items to the customer ready to use.
Program pilot in Adrian expands services
Through the pilot in Adrian, subcontractors for lawn care and snow removal were also added to Aggen’s service options.
A larger, six-figure grant for 2022 through MRAAA expanded Aggen’s business to a six-county area, although Aggen prefers to focus on her 50-mile radius from her home, which puts the focus on Rock, Nobles and Murray counties.
Through the 2022 grant, residents over age 60 and living on their own are able to tap into services on a sliding fee basis.
This project is made possible, in part, under the Federal Older Americans Act through an award from the Minnesota River Agency on Aging under an Area Plan approved by the Minnesota Board on Aging.
In the first quarter of 2022, Aggen and her subcontractors are working with 80 clients, 30 percent of whom live in the Luverne area.
“Luverne has definitely showcased a need,” she said.
Aggen subcontracts with Luverne Lawn Care for light yardwork, and RCO may expand into personal shopping depending on need.
To contact for services
For RCO laundry, document shredding and/or cleaning services, call Adria Benson at 507-283-4582.
For Essential Senior Services, call Marriah Aggen at 507-360-1949 or email maggen@essentialseniorservices.com.