Ardith Lee interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-02-14.
Ardith Lee talks about her history and experiences as a personal care aide. She describes how committed she is to working with older adults and her special interest in working with persons with dementia, for which she has had specialized training. She discusses a current client that she has had for an extended period of time, and how she has followed her through numerous…
Sarah Bigby interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-04-24.
Sarah describes her experiences as a personal care assistant, a profession she started when her children were young and she and her husband needed some additional income. She talks about discovering how much she enjoyed the work and her clients, and how this has kept her doing it for nine years. She has had predominately good experiences and relationships with both clients and family…
Alisa Curtis interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-06-06.
Alisa Curtis describes her experiences working as a personal care assistant. As a Native American, she brings a unique perspective to her work and talks about how some clients perceive her. Alisa also expresses her love of helping others, talks about her clients and the ways she tries to build relationships and trust, including through use of humor, and the experience and impact of…
Melinda Shine interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-02-14.
Melinda Shine describes her experiences as a personal care assistant, her dream and decision to open her own Adult Foster Care (AFC) home, and her experiences operating the home since its recent opening. She explains her philosophy based on offering excellent personalized care in a neighborhood setting where residents would be part of the community. She also touches on the challenges of a new…
Marilyn Martell-Stotler interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-04-25.
Marilyn "Mare" Martell describes her experiences as a Personal Care Assistant (PCA) for older adults in their own homes. Mare is a multi-talented person with a rich history as artist, former radio DJ, published author, and more. Her vibrant personality and commitment to leading a life "showing love" is evident in her T-shirt proclaiming "LOVE," the sticker she gives us that reads "Be LOVE,"…
Susan Fierro interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2017-11-29.
Susan "Sue" Fierro describes her experiences working as a Personal Care Aide (PCA). She started soon after high school because it was an accessible field for people without a college education. She talked about working for both agencies and as an independent, finding clients by word-of-mouth for nearly forty years. However, the work has been intermittent, due to lack of guaranteed hours. She discusses…
Henrietta Ivey interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-05-19.
Henrietta Ivey describes her experiences working as a Personal Care Assistant (PCA) and also working as an activist on behalf of anyone in the labor force and their right to be shown respect, paid a living wage, and lead a decent life. Her interview is rich with passionate arguments for better labor conditions. She also highlights her work with a new Detroit organization, Care…
Eva M. Sharpe interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-06-18.
Eva Sharpe describes her history as a personal care assistant/family caregiver. She cares for her great-uncle, who lives with his daughter, her aunt. It is an emotional interview as Eva shares stories of her great-uncle and other family members who have needed care over the years, including her grandmother, to whom she was very close. She illustrates differences between the experience of being a…
Contributor:
Luz, Clare - Sharpe, Eva M. - Ibrahim, Khalid - Occupational Folklife Project
Date:2018-01-01
Audio Recording
Kevin Kitchel interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-06-12.
Kevin Kitchel describes his experience working as a personal care assistant. He started PCA work just prior to entering nursing school. He had decided on a career as a nurse and work experience was required for admission to nursing school. A friend referred him to his first client, who required a high level of care. Kevin started the job with no training. The client…
Aria Porraz interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-06-11.
Aria Porraz describes her experiences working as a personal care assistant. She started doing PCA work while a student at Western Michigan University and states it is an excellent job for students who need flexible hours while going to school. She tried retail work but found it too boring. When she started PCA work she discovered she loved it and felt she has an…
Kelli L. Holmgren interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-06-10.
Kelli Holmgren describes her experiences working as a personal care assistant (PCA). She is a long-term PCA who worked for years in hospice and now works in rehab. She talks frankly about the poor working conditions within the field as a whole: e.g., low wages, benefits, respect, etc. and expresses anger about regulations that limit her ability to perform certain care tasks due to…
Diane Wine interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-06-11.
Diane Wine describes her experiences working as a personal care assistant. She has been doing PCA work for 18 years, post-retirement from a local hospital where she worked first as a candy striper then in the pharmacy. She enjoys home care as it always bothered her to witness hospital patients go to a nursing home when she knew that often all they needed was…
Wendy Martin interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-06-06.
Wendy Martin describes her experiences working as a personal care assistant (PCA). She brings a unique perspective as she is co-owner, with her mother, of the Crystal Penney home care agency, a one-office business in northern Michigan. In addition, she previously worked as an engineer in the auto industry and has a great deal of business acumen, which she has applied to Crystal Penney…
Betty Keller interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-06-06.
Betty Keller describes her experiences working as a personal care assistant. She brings a unique perspective because she transitioned from working as a PCA to office administration, primarily as a scheduler. She describes the value of having PCA experience when coordinating all of the PCAs and helping them schedule home visits and meet the wide range of challenges that arise. She talks about her…
Heather Zielinski interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-06-09.
Heather Zielinski describes her experiences working as a personal care aide. She brings a unique perspective as a self-identified Native American and discusses how she believes cultural differences influence the relationships with her clients. She has a special affinity for working with people at end of life. She talks about unexpected scenarios, safety, and difficulties with maintaining professional boundaries.
Jennifer Lugo interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-06-09.
Jennifer Lugo describes her experiences working as a personal care assistant (PCA). She brings a unique perspective as she is a PCA for non-family members as well as a family caregiver for her mother, who has had frontal temporal dementia for 11 years. She cared for her mother for 7 years in their home prior to her mother moving to a nursing home. She…
Richard Dusenbury interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-05-22.
Richard Dusenbury describes his experiences working as a Personal Care Assistant, starting with care of his grandmother when he was in his early 20s. He discusses his experiences working with clients in the judicial system who had mental health and behavioral conditions; running his own adult foster care; and working with agencies after returning to Michigan to live closer to his mother. He also…
Rachel Esch interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-06-27.
Rachel Esch describes her experiences working as a personal care aide. She has worked as a PCA while going through nursing school and has one more semester before graduation. She entered the field when a friend asked if she could provide assistance to the friend's uncle, who is Mexican. Rachel is half Mexican. She loves the work and describes herself as "a giver." She…
Ann Bilyeu interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-07-08.
Ann Bilyeu describes her experiences working as a personal care assistant. She started years ago working in a residential behavioral/mental health setting and also in a hospice. She now works for a home care agency. She emphasizes several key points, including the need for more male PCAs; the need for self-care to prevent burnout; problems with sexually inappropriate client behaviors; and the value of…
Jeremy Klimas and Elizabeth Peterson interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-07-08.
In this joint interview at their home, Jeremy Klimas and Elizabeth Petersen describe their experiences working as personal care assistants. Klimas brings a different perspective as a male PCA, and as a veteran who has had 3 tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. He then worked as a police officer for 10 years, but left the force because it had become too dangerous.…
Contributor:
Klimas, Jeremy - Occupational Folklife Project - Petersen, Elizabeth - Luz, Clare - Ibrahim, Khalid
Date:2018-01-01
Audio Recording
Therese Mukarushema interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-07-07.
Therese Mukarushema describes her experiences working as a personal care assistant. She brings a unique perspective as an immigrant from Rwanda who came to the U.S. with her husband following their civil war and has since become a U.S. citizen. She was a nurse in Rwanda. In the United States, she had to take a job doing laundry then worked in a nursing home…
Maria Cosper interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-06-27.
Maria Cosper describes her experiences working as a personal care assistant. She is a family caregiver providing care to her father-in-law, who lives with her and her husband as well as other family members, who live next door and locally. It was an emotional interview as she tells stories about various family members through the years, their role in the family, and how difficult…
Manila Freeman and Vernette Mahone interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-07-05.
Vernette Mahone and Manila Freeman describe their experiences working as personal care assistants. They were interviewed together in a conference room at the Detroit Public Library's Jefferson Branch. They have often worked together over the years as PCAs, and also engaged in activism on behalf of PCAs--organizing for unionization, better labor conditions, more respect and representation. They have both done organizing work with SEIU…
Hellen Kwant and Martha H. Kwant interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-06-04.
Hellen and her daughter Martha Kwant, who is also a PCA, were interviewed together, describing their experiences working as Personal Care Assistants. Hellen brings a unique perspective because she is Colombian born. She talks about cultural differences related to inter-generational caregiving expectations and how she was raised by her mother to take care of anyone in the community who was in need of help.…
Donna Aberly and Diane Saari interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-07-19.
Donna M. Aberly and Diane Saari were interviewed together. They both work for the same agency and are friends. Both have been doing PCA work for many years and love being able to help people. They state they would not be able to rely on PCA work as their only income--both are married--but they enjoy the personal relationships that develop over time and making…
Contributor:
Aberly, Donna M. - Saari, Diane - Occupational Folklife Project - Luz, Clare - Ibrahim, Khalid
Audio RecordingArdith Lee interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-02-14. Ardith Lee talks about her history and experiences as a personal care aide. She describes how committed she is to working with older adults and her special interest in working with persons with dementia, for which she has had specialized training. She discusses a current client that she has had for an extended period of time, and how she has followed her through numerous…
Audio RecordingSarah Bigby interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-04-24. Sarah describes her experiences as a personal care assistant, a profession she started when her children were young and she and her husband needed some additional income. She talks about discovering how much she enjoyed the work and her clients, and how this has kept her doing it for nine years. She has had predominately good experiences and relationships with both clients and family…
Audio RecordingAlisa Curtis interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-06-06. Alisa Curtis describes her experiences working as a personal care assistant. As a Native American, she brings a unique perspective to her work and talks about how some clients perceive her. Alisa also expresses her love of helping others, talks about her clients and the ways she tries to build relationships and trust, including through use of humor, and the experience and impact of…
Audio RecordingMelinda Shine interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-02-14. Melinda Shine describes her experiences as a personal care assistant, her dream and decision to open her own Adult Foster Care (AFC) home, and her experiences operating the home since its recent opening. She explains her philosophy based on offering excellent personalized care in a neighborhood setting where residents would be part of the community. She also touches on the challenges of a new…
Audio RecordingMarilyn Martell-Stotler interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-04-25. Marilyn "Mare" Martell describes her experiences as a Personal Care Assistant (PCA) for older adults in their own homes. Mare is a multi-talented person with a rich history as artist, former radio DJ, published author, and more. Her vibrant personality and commitment to leading a life "showing love" is evident in her T-shirt proclaiming "LOVE," the sticker she gives us that reads "Be LOVE,"…
Audio RecordingSusan Fierro interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2017-11-29. Susan "Sue" Fierro describes her experiences working as a Personal Care Aide (PCA). She started soon after high school because it was an accessible field for people without a college education. She talked about working for both agencies and as an independent, finding clients by word-of-mouth for nearly forty years. However, the work has been intermittent, due to lack of guaranteed hours. She discusses…
Audio RecordingHenrietta Ivey interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-05-19. Henrietta Ivey describes her experiences working as a Personal Care Assistant (PCA) and also working as an activist on behalf of anyone in the labor force and their right to be shown respect, paid a living wage, and lead a decent life. Her interview is rich with passionate arguments for better labor conditions. She also highlights her work with a new Detroit organization, Care…
Audio RecordingEva M. Sharpe interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-06-18. Eva Sharpe describes her history as a personal care assistant/family caregiver. She cares for her great-uncle, who lives with his daughter, her aunt. It is an emotional interview as Eva shares stories of her great-uncle and other family members who have needed care over the years, including her grandmother, to whom she was very close. She illustrates differences between the experience of being a…
Audio RecordingKevin Kitchel interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-06-12. Kevin Kitchel describes his experience working as a personal care assistant. He started PCA work just prior to entering nursing school. He had decided on a career as a nurse and work experience was required for admission to nursing school. A friend referred him to his first client, who required a high level of care. Kevin started the job with no training. The client…
Audio RecordingAria Porraz interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-06-11. Aria Porraz describes her experiences working as a personal care assistant. She started doing PCA work while a student at Western Michigan University and states it is an excellent job for students who need flexible hours while going to school. She tried retail work but found it too boring. When she started PCA work she discovered she loved it and felt she has an…
Audio RecordingKelli L. Holmgren interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-06-10. Kelli Holmgren describes her experiences working as a personal care assistant (PCA). She is a long-term PCA who worked for years in hospice and now works in rehab. She talks frankly about the poor working conditions within the field as a whole: e.g., low wages, benefits, respect, etc. and expresses anger about regulations that limit her ability to perform certain care tasks due to…
Audio RecordingDiane Wine interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-06-11. Diane Wine describes her experiences working as a personal care assistant. She has been doing PCA work for 18 years, post-retirement from a local hospital where she worked first as a candy striper then in the pharmacy. She enjoys home care as it always bothered her to witness hospital patients go to a nursing home when she knew that often all they needed was…
Audio RecordingWendy Martin interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-06-06. Wendy Martin describes her experiences working as a personal care assistant (PCA). She brings a unique perspective as she is co-owner, with her mother, of the Crystal Penney home care agency, a one-office business in northern Michigan. In addition, she previously worked as an engineer in the auto industry and has a great deal of business acumen, which she has applied to Crystal Penney…
Audio RecordingBetty Keller interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-06-06. Betty Keller describes her experiences working as a personal care assistant. She brings a unique perspective because she transitioned from working as a PCA to office administration, primarily as a scheduler. She describes the value of having PCA experience when coordinating all of the PCAs and helping them schedule home visits and meet the wide range of challenges that arise. She talks about her…
Audio RecordingHeather Zielinski interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-06-09. Heather Zielinski describes her experiences working as a personal care aide. She brings a unique perspective as a self-identified Native American and discusses how she believes cultural differences influence the relationships with her clients. She has a special affinity for working with people at end of life. She talks about unexpected scenarios, safety, and difficulties with maintaining professional boundaries.
Audio RecordingJennifer Lugo interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-06-09. Jennifer Lugo describes her experiences working as a personal care assistant (PCA). She brings a unique perspective as she is a PCA for non-family members as well as a family caregiver for her mother, who has had frontal temporal dementia for 11 years. She cared for her mother for 7 years in their home prior to her mother moving to a nursing home. She…
Audio RecordingRichard Dusenbury interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-05-22. Richard Dusenbury describes his experiences working as a Personal Care Assistant, starting with care of his grandmother when he was in his early 20s. He discusses his experiences working with clients in the judicial system who had mental health and behavioral conditions; running his own adult foster care; and working with agencies after returning to Michigan to live closer to his mother. He also…
Audio RecordingRachel Esch interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-06-27. Rachel Esch describes her experiences working as a personal care aide. She has worked as a PCA while going through nursing school and has one more semester before graduation. She entered the field when a friend asked if she could provide assistance to the friend's uncle, who is Mexican. Rachel is half Mexican. She loves the work and describes herself as "a giver." She…
Audio RecordingAnn Bilyeu interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-07-08. Ann Bilyeu describes her experiences working as a personal care assistant. She started years ago working in a residential behavioral/mental health setting and also in a hospice. She now works for a home care agency. She emphasizes several key points, including the need for more male PCAs; the need for self-care to prevent burnout; problems with sexually inappropriate client behaviors; and the value of…
Audio RecordingJeremy Klimas and Elizabeth Peterson interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-07-08. In this joint interview at their home, Jeremy Klimas and Elizabeth Petersen describe their experiences working as personal care assistants. Klimas brings a different perspective as a male PCA, and as a veteran who has had 3 tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. He then worked as a police officer for 10 years, but left the force because it had become too dangerous.…
Audio RecordingTherese Mukarushema interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-07-07. Therese Mukarushema describes her experiences working as a personal care assistant. She brings a unique perspective as an immigrant from Rwanda who came to the U.S. with her husband following their civil war and has since become a U.S. citizen. She was a nurse in Rwanda. In the United States, she had to take a job doing laundry then worked in a nursing home…
Audio RecordingMaria Cosper interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-06-27. Maria Cosper describes her experiences working as a personal care assistant. She is a family caregiver providing care to her father-in-law, who lives with her and her husband as well as other family members, who live next door and locally. It was an emotional interview as she tells stories about various family members through the years, their role in the family, and how difficult…
Audio RecordingManila Freeman and Vernette Mahone interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-07-05. Vernette Mahone and Manila Freeman describe their experiences working as personal care assistants. They were interviewed together in a conference room at the Detroit Public Library's Jefferson Branch. They have often worked together over the years as PCAs, and also engaged in activism on behalf of PCAs--organizing for unionization, better labor conditions, more respect and representation. They have both done organizing work with SEIU…
Audio RecordingHellen Kwant and Martha H. Kwant interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-06-04. Hellen and her daughter Martha Kwant, who is also a PCA, were interviewed together, describing their experiences working as Personal Care Assistants. Hellen brings a unique perspective because she is Colombian born. She talks about cultural differences related to inter-generational caregiving expectations and how she was raised by her mother to take care of anyone in the community who was in need of help.…
Audio RecordingDonna Aberly and Diane Saari interview conducted by Khalid Ibrahim and Clare Luz, 2018-07-19. Donna M. Aberly and Diane Saari were interviewed together. They both work for the same agency and are friends. Both have been doing PCA work for many years and love being able to help people. They state they would not be able to rely on PCA work as their only income--both are married--but they enjoy the personal relationships that develop over time and making…