CDF Spotlight Business: My Helpers United
TUPELO – Brenda Hardin, 84, doesn’t get around as easily as she once did, but whenever she might need some help, she relies on My Helpers United, a personal assistant and consultant services firm that provides in-home care and business services.
From running errands to cleaning rooms to cooking to pet sitting, My Helpers United is that extra pair of hands (and feet) someone might need.
“We’re like a staffing agency for a house,” said company owner Barbara Windham.
Now a resident at the Mitchell Center at Traceway, Hardin has been a client of My Helpers United for nearly 18 months, first at her home in Northridge and now at Traceway.
“I have a vision problem, and I needed somebody to help me see and cook, and that’s how we got going,” Hardin said. “We just hit it off the first day.”
Windham, who founded My Helpers United in 2022, has been a loyal client from the start.
“She’s just darling,” Hardin said of Windham. “They helped me buy groceries, drive me to all my doctors, cooked me breakfast and drove me everywhere I needed to go.”
My Helpers United also helped Hardin transition over from her home to Traceway about seven months ago.
“One of my workers was staying with her at her home, and we were concerned about her staying by herself,” Windham said. “My worker took her around to all the assisted living homes to make it easier for her, and she got to pick her own place where she wanted to live.”
Hardin enjoyed having My Helpers United around so much that she continued using their services even at Traceway. Recently, she had them take her to a wedding in Oxford.
“We still take her to her eye doctor and still run errands for her,” Windham said. “We’ve followed Ms. Brenda from the very beginning; she was one of my first clients.”
Windham was an administrator at Generations Senior Living for five years start her own business with My Helpers United.
“I left because it was such a demanding business,” she said. “But I just had this vision of having my own business. I like to help the community, and Generations always had a waiting list. So a lot of people would call, and I couldn’t help them because of the wait.”
Windham said her passion is helping older adults, and that’s how My Helpers United got started.
“The majority of my business is with the elderly,” she said. “When I was designing the business, I thought, what could the elderly use? They could use sitting services, which is our primary business. And that’s also how our pet sitting business came from that as well. When the elderly are at the hospital or at some extended care place, they might need somebody to take care of their pets. And along with that came cleaning services as well.”
Windham kept adding to the list of what My Helpers United could do as she thought about the calls she used to get at Generations.
“There are so many people in the area that need the help,” she said. “Everybody needs help. What if you’re a transplant and you need a wisdom tooth cut out? You have to have somebody drive you. You might not know anybody who can help you. Most people are working; their friends are working; their family’s working. I mean, I have friends I can ask for help, but they’re working and I don’t want to ask them.”
And while My Helpers United was designed to help older adults, its services are available to everyone.
Windham’s idea has caught on, and she now has about 15 employees and growing. Clients include people living at several senior living facilities, at NMMC and several homes.
“We can help everyone; there’s no one we can’t help, as long as they’re 18 and up,” Windham said.
My Helpers United doesn’t require a weekly minimum from its clients, which sets it apart from other agencies, Windham said.
“We just have a four-hour daily minimum and that’s it,” she said. “So we can do a lot of emergency situations like sitting at a hospital.”
From short-term to long-term situation, My Helpers United is there to help, Windham said.
“People have called us for doggie daycare, we’ve watered flowers all summer for people who are gone, you name it,” she said.
For more information about My Helpers United call (662) 314-8539, email [email protected] or visit myhelpersunited.com