The Path Forward for Caregiving

Older adults now outnumber children in nearly half of US counties, as the population of those aged 65 and over continues to increase. This presents the care industry with an increase in demand for senior care, one which sometimes goes unmet.

As a result, the responsibility for senior care support often falls to family members. In just over a decade, the US has seen the number of family caregivers regularly assisting older adults with daily activities at home grow by 32% – increasing from 18.2 million to 24.1 million between 2011 and 2022. And, although sons, daughters and grandchildren often approach this with love and understanding the added pressure can begin to impact their physical and emotional wellbeing.

“Our families do what they can, but they are so busy themselves,” says Beverley, 88 from Texas. “It’s a whole different culture than when we were young.”

Sometimes, family caregiving isn’t an option so older adults must navigate their later years alone – supporting themselves through daily activities, which were once easy, but can continue to grow more difficult as time passes and care needs increase.

When seeking care and assistance for seniors, families and older adults often assume that there are one or two options – those typically being either in-home care agencies or care homes. And while these services are often helpful, sometimes they aren’t quite the right fit or are simply out of reach financially.

This presents a caregiving conundrum. On one side there is an ageing population with increasing care needs, and, on the other, a caregiving ecosystem grappling with the growing challenges.

Herewith – a caregiving platform – aims to provide a different solution.

We are living longer and better, and the services and amenities that Herewith are offering us are very much appreciated – Beverley, Herewith user.

“Think of it along the lines of a ride share and a dating app merged together for people to find in-home care,” says Veronica Baiz, chief operating officer at Herewith.

Baiz began her career in the geriatric space at age 15 as a nursing assistant at a nursing home, and through Herewith she is working to make in-home senior care more accessible, and the process of acquiring help within communities easier to navigate.

Coming from a family with five living generations, she says her family-focused values are strong. Ensuring that the older adults in her life, particularly her grandmother Julia, are not forgotten is one of her strongest motivations. “I think of her daily as we’re building our product here at Herewith,” she says. “I talk to seniors who need our help and I want our helpers to treat every person whose home they enter with the respect and kindness I would expect of them if they were with my grandmother.”

Herewith connects families and seniors directly with trained, verified and local caregivers through its app. Beverley is an avid user of Herewith and finds its approach not only helpful to her but also her family members, as it helps alleviate the pressure of fitting her care into their schedules. “Somebody had to think all this up, put the programme together and then make it happen,” she says. “And we really appreciate it.”

Its custom booking experience is at “the touch of a finger on a cellphone,” says Baiz. By aiming to simplify the process of finding in-home care, one of Herewith’s apps main features enables users to request a ‘Herewith helper’ for either themselves or a family member, wherever they are located.

“We are able to reach people in rural areas who perhaps would not be able to get care otherwise, and our helpers are sourced from the local community,” says Baiz. “It’s not just a stranger, it’s someone that maybe works at the grocery store and comes to help you at your home once or twice a week, someone you may already have a built-in trust factor with.”

Its customer-focused model means that prior to hiring, families and seniors have the option to connect with multiple caregivers and decide who will be the right fit for their specific needs. This allows users to factor in real-life barriers – like fluctuating schedules and budgets – which may have prevented them from hiring in-home care before finding Herewith. Each helper, when signing up to Herewith, undergoes a mandatory background check. This screening process helps Herewith verify their identity, provide safer care and build trust when connecting caregivers with seniors.

The platform also aims to keep costs predictable and transparent by charging 20% of the family’s chosen in-home care budget, with the remaining 80% going directly to the helper providing care (terms and conditions apply).

I’ve seen people who would not be able to stay in their own homes match with our helpers and be able to stay in their own homes, where they’re peaceful and happy – Veronica Baiz, Herewith’s chief operating officer

Each helper has a skillset that they share in detail on their profile on the app, helping Herewith connect families with services suited to their needs: spanning from personalised memory care for seniors living with Alzheimer’s and dementia, to helping users travel to and from appointments and providing full-time experienced palliative care, among other services.

Lettie Laredo, a Herewith helper, says that caring for people is simply instinctual to her. “It is very important to make a connection, because I want to build a bond with them,” she says. “I try to make them feel comfortable.”

Working with Herewith has allowed her to choose her own working schedule, adapting it to her busy home life. “I have a lot going on at home,” says Laredo. “It gives me time to set a set schedule for someone to be there for my kids, and then I can go to work and know that my family is taken care of.”

Because Herewith operates on a location-based model connecting helpers directly with clients, helpers like Laredo are able to build trusting, ongoing relationships with the people they support. The platform prioritises local matches, allowing helpers to regularly assist the same individuals within their own communities. For families coordinating care from a distance, this local proximity provides added reassurance, knowing their loved one’s helper is nearby and available if urgent needs arise

Herewith presents a more accessible, community-driven approach to in-home care, one designed not only for older adults, but for the families navigating the growing pressures of modern life. As more households balance careers, childcare and the responsibility of supporting ageing relatives, the platform aims to ease that strain. “Herewith doesn’t only impact the person receiving care,” Baiz says. “It supports the entire family ecosystem. When care is coordinated well, everyone functions better.”

Herewith highlights an opportunity for in-home care to meet older adults and families where they are, transitioning from structured, formal care systems toward a flexible technology-enabled solution that brings home caregiving within reach.