The National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM)
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The National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM) is a not-for-profit, professional association of organizations dedicated to assisting older adults and families with the physical and emotional demands of downsizing, relocating, or modifying their homes to age in place. NASMM is devoted to helping the rapidly increasing 55+ population with middle and later life transition issues, and to maximizing the dignity and autonomy of older adults.
What exactly is Senior Move Management?
Senior Move Management is the profession that assists older adults and their families with the emotional and physical aspects of relocation and/or “aging in place.” Senior Move Management professionals — Senior Move Managers�� — have backgrounds in gerontology, social work, health care, nursing and psychology, others come to this industry from the corporate world of project management, technology, accounting or marketing. Senior Move Managers® require a profound commitment to connecting with older adults and a desire to perform meaningful work.
Although specific services vary, most Senior Move Managers® can help with some or all of the following:
- Developing an overall move or “age in place” plan
- Organizing, sorting and downsizing
- Customized floor plans
- Arranging for the profitable disposal of unwanted items through auction, estate sale, buy-out, consignment, donation, or a combination of the above
- Interviewing, scheduling and overseeing movers
- Arranging shipments and storage
- Supervise and oversight of professional packing
- Unpacking and setting up the new home
- Related services, such as cleaning, waste removal, shopping, senior escort, assisting with selection of a realtor and helping prepare the home to be sold.
Some Senior Move Managers® provide these services directly; others function in more of an oversight or management role. Senior Move Managers® have extensive, practical knowledge about the costs, quality and availability of various local community resources. Additionally, Senior Move Managers® frequently assist individuals who choose to stay in their own homes, but simply require expert organizational skills and solid knowledge of “aging in place” concepts to help them achieve their goal of … not moving anywhere, but improving quality of life!
Why is Senior Move Management needed now and not twenty years ago?
- The numbers tell the story. The U.S. population aged 65 and over will jump nearly 80 percent when the Baby Boom generation retires (from 2010 to 2030). By 2030, the elderly will account for one-fifth of the total U.S. population. Did you also know that Americans age 85 and above comprise the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population?
- Today, many families are geographically dispersed and adult children are often not able to help with the moving process due to distance, career and family obligations. For family members living far away, the barriers may be geographic.
- Many seniors have no surviving children, or increasingly, their children are older adults themselves. If illness or death precipitates the move, the family is likely already drained both emotionally and physically. They need help. Senior Move Managers® emerged to fill these gaps and to facilitate the transition for everyone involved.
- Older adults making a transition have usually not moved in 30, 40 or 50 years and need to downsize considerably. The organizational and physical tasks associated with planning and implementing such a complex move can be overwhelming for the entire family. Seek the help of experienced, insured professionals and call a Senior Move Manager��.
Members of the National Association of Senior Move Managers are bound by a code of ethics which guides their relationship with clients. NASSM also requires ongoing training for its members and appropriate insurance coverage.
For more information on NASMM, please visit their site at www.nasmm.org.