In October 2023, life was moving torturously fast for Yasmin. Her husband of nine years, who held down two jobs so Yasmin could stay at home with their 8-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son, returned to Mexico to finish his U.S. immigration process. Caught off-guard, Yasmin needed a job quickly, and not just any job. She needed a flexible employer so she could take her children to school as well as coordinate their return and home care.
Enter owner Kelly Hutchison’s award-winning Home Instead® franchise in Itasca, Illinois. “When I was looking online for jobs, Home Instead came up on my screen. When I sent my contact information, they asked me to come to the office the very next day. When I arrived, I spoke to a kind lady and explained my situation and the need for flexible work hours. I said, ‘Please work with me,’ ” Yasmin recalled.
On Nov. 1, 2023, Yasmin joined Home Instead as a Care Professional, and 11 months later she was honored as the franchise’s Care Pro of the Month. “Senior care is nothing new for me. In my culture, we help elderly family members; we never leave them. When I was growing up, we were together all the time, all of the generations together. I assisted my grandmother and grandfather. It is heartbreaking to see seniors who are lonely and struggling to live on their own. So, there is a real need for Home Instead,” Yasmin said.
Before Yasmin had her family, she was a loan processor and originator for two banks that operate nationally in the U.S. Yasmin pointed out she can’t return to those positions because of her children. “Those jobs require more than 40-hour workweeks. My kids are my priorities. I have two sisters with their own kids. They can help me, but not every day. My grandmother tried to travel here and help me, but there were legal barriers. My mom came to help me, and she arrived five or six months ago. She doesn’t drive, so I have to take my children to school,” Yasmin said.
Home Instead has been a godsend. “My employer has helped me. I spoke to them about my situation. I am spiritual, so I prayed. Home Instead looked for the right scheduling fit for clients. I’ve been with my client for a whole year. I’ve also been with a wonderful couple. In addition, I take fill-in clients if I can. Home Instead is so nice. They answer all of my questions,” Yasmin said.
Home Instead Training Coordinator Jackie Washburn and Staffing Manager Amanda Kraus stressed that selecting Yasmin as a Care Pro of the Month honoree was an easy decision.
Jackie said: “Yasmin is a kind and gentle soul who has an intense sense of compassion. She is loyal and dependable, a hard worker, and an absolute delight with whom to work. She maintains the clients she is assigned, and helps here and there when possible. Yasmin is even still caring for the same client who she visited on her first day at Home Instead!”
Amanda said: “Yasmin is such a sweetheart. She’s always willing to help even when it’s a last-minute request. Her clients absolutely love her! I’ve heard wonderful things about her, such as: ‘She never sits down!’ Yasmin is always up and doing something for her clients, whether it’s preparing a hearty meal or providing light housekeeping. Yasmin is a great representation of Home Instead.”
A 94-year-old client, for whom Yasmin has assisted for a year, was not friendly at first. “It took a couple of weeks, and somehow I won her over. I didn’t force anything. I was very cautious with her. Things improved little by little,” Yasmin explained.
Then Yasmin revealed her secret to successful companionship: “You need to learn everything you can about your client. I learned more and more about her and her family. Then she wanted to know about my family and asks how my son is doing in school. She is a retired teacher and tries to give education tips. Now she asks if I am coming back.”
Yasmin added: “I care for her so much that I have felt an obligation to pray for her. One day when I helped her get to sleep, I prayed silently over her. While I was doing that, her eyes opened and she asked what I was doing. I told her I was praying for her. She said, ‘Ok. Continue to do your thing.’ Then she closed her eyes. The prayer is, ‘I give thanks to the Lord for your life.’ I feel a closeness to her. She was in the hospital for a short time. When I went with her, the nurses asked me if I was her granddaughter.”
Yasmin’s other regular clients are a husband and wife who are in their 90s. Yasmin spends four weekday mornings with the couple. They don’t want help from anyone else on the rare days when Yasmin can’t make it. “It is hard not to get attached to them because they are sweet people,” Yasmin said. “They are an example of how to live your life. It’s true that I am helping them, but I feel they are helping me, too. I feel very good when I am with them. It is my therapy to be with them.”
Yasmin added: “My thought is, if I am not helping them, who will take care of them? They have so much respect for me. It’s a healthy mutual respect. We talk about God and how we need to be close to the Lord. They say that’s the only way to live a peaceful life. I love them so much.”
Yasmin wants to stay with Home Instead but life likely will change when her husband returns. “He and my kids come first, but I can see a client schedule that works around whatever happens,” Yasmin said. “I feel I cannot leave my regular clients. If possible, I want to stay with them until they can’t remain at home. My professional senior-care experiences have cleared my vision on other matters. I have told my mother: ‘I will never let you go to a nursing home. You will be with me until you die if you need help.’ My mother is in good shape now, pretty healthy at 65. I feel I have my family and then my ‘Home Instead family.’ ”
Home Instead Care Professionals are screened, trained and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (847) 690-9825 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead services, visit our website at homeinstead.com/location/205
