OUR STORY
THE HELPERS FOR HIRE PROGRAM

We thought you would like to know how and why the Helpers For Hire Program got started, what we are doing and how we do it. In other words this is OUR STORY.

As is the case with many projects and programs, the Helpers for Hire Program started with a problem needing a solution. In this case John Page, Sheriff of Camden County, Missouri, brought the problem to the attention of one of our local citizens, who is active in community affairs involving neighborhood crime watch groups and Senior Citizens organizations. The problem was described as some of our local Senior Citizens being "cheated and ripped off" by some unscrupulous persons. The real problem arises when those victims could not give an adequate description to law enforcement officials, sufficient enough to locate the offenders. Indeed, the Sheriff noted that many of the unfortunate Senior Citizens, knew only the first name and a vague description of the vehicle used in the offense. At this time the Sheriff was invited to appear before the Camden County Senior Services Tax Board, designated to meet the needs and services for Senior Citizens, and describe the problems in more detail. After the Sheriff related, to this Board, various horror stories about many Senior Citizens who were scammed and cheated, resulting in considerable loss of their savings, the Board designated one of its Board members to work closely with the Camden County Sheriff's Department to come up with a solution. Now, you may ask, what's the solution? The Sheriff's wish was to develop a list of people who, after a thorough background check, including fingerprinting and pictures, could then be available for hiring to perform various tasks and services, in and around the home.

Thus was born the Helpers for Hire Committee. Our challenge was to make this happen and make the Sheriff's wish come true. As with all Committees, before such a committee can really get started, there must be a "Mission Statement". Our Mission Statement can be accessed from the home page of this Internet site. Next, working closely with the Sheriff's Department and various Community Organizations, a nine member volunteer committee was formed. This Committee includes members from a wide variety of community interest groups and organizations, such as, Crime Watch groups, Senior Centers, Central Missouri Area Agency on Aging, (CMAAA), Camden County Senior Services Tax Board, the Tri-County Salvation Army, MOCA (Missouri Ozarks for Community Action), in home health care services organization, and last but not least, the Camden County Sheriff, and one of his Deputies, assigned to help administer the program. We, as a committee, are proud that we serve as volunteers and do not solicit funds. All of our service time and operating expenses are volunteered. As a Committee, we also realized that there are some aspects of this Program that must be considered by those who want to be hired and those in need of hiring for services. For example, negotiations for financial arrangements and terms for hiring are strictly between those in need of hiring and the helpers listed in this Registry. Indeed, anyone needing to hire someone for any of the various services described can now call helpers listed who provide the same services and hire based on the best price for services needed. Additionally, while this Registry cannot assure any citizen, who is unable to perform these tasks, that they will not be cheated, it will provide: (1) an added measure of reliability to assist their decision whether to hire for services and (2) an invaluable tool for law enforcement's investigations of complaints

Our next task, as a Committee, was to enlist the enrollment of helpers on the Helpers for Hire Registry. Toward that end, several tasks had to be accomplished. First, we created a "REGISTRY APPLICATION - HELPERS FOR HIRE". Next we had to find a way to let folks know that we needed to enlist helpers for this program. Thus, we wrote a "Public Notice" calling for Helpers for Hire to sign up. Both of these items can also be accessed on this Web site. At this point we needed printing and to find a media for publication. To the rescue came "Advantage Systems" who did our printing, gratis, and our local newspaper, The Lake Sun now publishing and sponsoring the Public Notices, also gratis. Obviously, the Helpers for Hire Committee are deeply grateful for their efforts. Before we could publish the Public Notice, we needed credibility. We realized that many people would presume that this program was just another "money making scheme", which it is not. Thus we began a campaign to win the endorsements of various public interest groups and organizations. These endorsements did not include any requests for funds. This list of endorsements includes the local Chamber of Commerce, the Lake Sun Newspaper, various Crime Watch Groups, City of Laurie, and Senior Centers. The full list of endorsements, to date, can also be accessed on this Web site.

Once the Public Notice, calling for helpers to enlist, was periodically published in the Lake Sun, the response was slower than the committee desired. It was at this point that we realized we needed some "advertising". Thus was created a one page flyer, entitled: "SIGN UP AS A HELPER FOR HIRE, IT'S GOOD BUSINESS" and a "HELPERS FOR HIRE Q & A". Both of these items can also be accessed on this Web site.

It is interesting to note that although our original mission was to protect the interests of Senior Citizens, the Committee quickly realized that this type of program contained many inherent values beyond the scope of protecting Senior Citizens. We realized that this type of program would greatly benefit, anyone who is not able or willing to perform various tasks and would prefer to pay for services, regardless of their age or physical condition. We also quickly realized that this program could be a much-needed source of additional employment. There is no expense to the Helper to enlist in this program, other than for a background check that is paid to either the Morgan or Camden County Sheriff's Departments, (currently $14). Indeed if a Helper were to run an advertisement in the "Want Ads" section of a newspaper, similar to what is displayed in the Helpers for Hire Registry, we suspect his cost would be greater than the background fee. .

In addition to this Web site, we are providing, for reference, paper copies of the same information found on this Web site, to local Senior Centers, Laurie City Hall, Morgan and Camden County Sheriffs Departments and to various churches in our area.

Well, this was and is our story. Yes, it is an ongoing story, as we expect to see our Registry of Helpers for Hire grow. For a more in-depth and detailed presentation of the Helper for Hire Program we invite you to click on the "Questions Answers" button of this Web site.

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