In the effort to provide a meaningful service to their community, Mark and Erin Willder opened a Right at Home office, 2230 N University Parkway in Provo, on Dec. 6. Right at Home offers in-home assistance for individuals in need of companion care, personal care and specialty care.

After a 25 year career in software and technology, Mark and his wife Erin, a managing editor at Brigham Young University, wanted to find a business that could help them connect with others and make a difference in people’s lives. According to Mark, Right at Home is that business.

“I was missing that human interaction, or finding the results of what I was building actually helping humans in their daily lives,” Mark Willder said. “I’m really enjoying these interactions with people who need help.”

In preparation to open their Right at Home office, the Willders completed certification to become certified nursing assistants, meaning that they can participate in Right at Home in a caregiving capacity, in addition to being owners.

According to Mark, his experience with assisted living began when he and his sister were searching for a service to help care for their elderly father who was suffering from dementia, and they didn’t know where to start.

“I was like ‘whoa, what do we do?’ Because I, like most Americans, before I got into this industry, I really didn’t know what options there were out there for getting help in the home,” Mark said. “I really want to make our business also kind of a learning hub for the county so we can help educate family members about how to have these conversations with their elderly parents and how to plan appropriately so you’re not kind of blindsided when they have a real serious issue.”

Willder wished he and his family had conversations surrounding in-home care and assistance before his father’s health began to decline, and that’s why his biggest piece of advice to adult children is to have these difficult conversations and create a plan while their parents can still be an active participant in the decision-making process.

“It’s so important to have these conversations with our loved ones before a crisis happens and kind of make sure they know that there are solutions out there to help them with that,” Mark said.

Resources on how to discuss in-home care with your loved one and more information on Right at Home can be found at http://www.rightathome.net/provo/.