An Interview with Karen Bodoano of Move Coordinators
Ask anyone who has had to help an aging relative move into supportive living or clearing their house after they have passed, and for most, the hardest part of the experience is sifting through their loved one’s belongings. Sifting through the memories as much as the mementos. But what if there was a service that could help with that process?
For queer people especially, aging comes with many questions and concerns around support and aging in dignity. One that offers white glove service from sorting to moving to arranging the donations and disposal. We sat down with Move Coordinator’s Karen Bodoano to learn more about this growing industry and how they can help with the hardest tasks.
Photo Courtesy: Karen Bodoano & Move Coordinators
Kay Del Rio
Tell me, how does your day start?
Karen Bodoano
It depends if it’s proactive or a reactive day. When I spoke to seniors groups early on, I realized I had two types of moves. I had a proactive move and I had a reactive move. Proactive being that they [clients] were still making all their choices and very much a part of the process. Reactive, where now they’re in hospital and they can no longer make decisions on their behalf anymore.
It starts out with us visiting them at their home, and helping them get ready for their move. I’m fairly strategic in how I approach that. I like to come in and pull out the things that they’re going to need immediately at their new place, because people are very overwhelmed with all of it.
I believe in paying attention to their patterns of how they live their life. What does their day look like? What’s their bedroom nightstand look like? What clothes are in their hamper? Because that’s what they’re going to use at their new place. It’s like packing for a vacation. When we’re packing for a vacation, we’re not thinking about taking the bread maker.
So we start there, I come in with boxes the day before their move, and we box up things that they won’t need that day or overnight. On move day, I show up with the moving contractor I have hired. I’m very fussy about my movers. I deal with only the best movers in Edmonton. I know who they are from my 30 years in the storage industry. I’ve got a system and have a pile of boxes ready for them to load. I often send my senior away, have family members or a friend take them for breakfast or get them out of the chaos. That’s what they pay me for is to shield them from the chaos of it, right?
Photo Credit: Pexels & RDNE Stock project
We load the truck, close the doors. I bring coolers for the food in the fridge or in the freezer. Help move their pets, if they have pets to be moved. Because, again, that’s not something movers typically do.
We head over to the new residence. As the guys are unloading boxes, we unpack and we put things away. We ask the client where they would like to put their glasses in the kitchen, if they want the towels in the linen closet…We’ll pay attention when we’re packing to how they stored things before, especially if there’s memory loss. We’ll take a picture of it and try to replicate it. We’ll take all that food that we moved over in the coolers, make sure it gets put back in their freezer and fridge, unpack the plants and the pets and all that stuff. Anything that’s kind of essential. Our theory is it should feel very much put together when we leave.
Kay Del Rio
You offer a wide range of comprehensive services, not just the move portion. What is the cost typically?
Karen Bodoano
A one-bedroom would be about $1500 to $2000 for our services, and about the same for the movers. It’s based on how far we’d have to travel, where the spaces are, if there’s long hallways and elevators. The more stuff you have, the more costs. We do free consults, and I go out and talk to them about what they want to move and give them an estimate based on what they tell me.
Kay Del Rio
Would you be willing to tell me a bit you wanted to tell me a bit about what inspired you?
Karen Bodoano
It was my aunt’s move that made me think, who helps the auntie Marys of the world? We had this lovely aunt who was widowed very young, who never had children. Lived on her own just off Whyte Avenue in the same apartment for 45 years. Her eyesight was going. At that point, she couldn’t be independent anymore. My cousins and I rallied, and we helped her move into a seniors residence. We helped her get moved over there. And I guess they got a taste for that then. I was still in the storage industry, and I thought, man who helps the Aunt Mary’s of the world?
Kay Del Rio
Are there core values that you bring to your work?
Karen Bodoano
Integrity, honesty, professionalism. Professionalism is huge for me. I believe there’s going to be more and more of us, and we’re going to service a large population that’s coming up. Trust is a huge thing too. My staff all have to have a clear criminal record. When we go into a job, we’re touching people’s jewelry and their passports and their business records. It’s very insightful to go through people’s stuff. You get to understand them, their hobbies and their interests. If they love to cook or if they had a craft or a woodworker or whatever, what their work was.
Kay Del Rio
What do you look for in your crew?
Karen Bodoano
Empathy, patience. You have to be able to read the situation. They’re [clients] moving, they’re stressed. They just dealt with the loss of their home. I can’t teach that. You have to have that coming in. We’re going to be seeing things that are not ordinary. You have to be non-judgmental.
Kay Del Rio
It’s about dignity.
Karen Bodoano
Absolutely.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
