Safe Moves for Seniors - Polk

10/13/2026

Please join us in welcoming Sarah Cook to the Organized Haven team! 🩵

Sarah joins us part-time as our Client & Community Services Coordinator, with her primary focus on supporting Safe Moves for Seniors - Polk.

Drawing from nearly nine years of experience as a 9-1-1 dispatcher, Sarah brings compassion, composure, careful listening, sound judgment, and strong documentation skills to a role that often begins with someone facing a difficult life transition. She will help respond to inquiries, guide older adults and families through our intake process, connect people with community resources, coordinate approved services, and strengthen the relationships that help this charitable mission grow.

Sarah will also support the Organized Haven team on selected organizing, moving, resettling, and community projects as her schedule permits.

And yes, the Cook family at Organized Haven is growing! Sarah is married to our Lead Mover, Jeff Cook, and is sister-in-law to David Cook, an experienced member of our moving team. We already knew Sarah as part of our extended family, but we are especially excited to officially welcome her for the experience, heart, and abilities she brings in her own right.

Sarah will continue her established career in public safety while sharing a portion of her time and talents with Organized Haven and Safe Moves for Seniors – Polk.

Welcome to the team, Sarah! We are so glad you’re here, and we cannot wait to see the difference you will help us make. ✨

08/26/2026

UPDATE: A candidate has been selected for this position, and we are moving through the final hiring steps!

Thank you to everyone who applied, shared our post, or referred someone special. We were truly grateful for the incredible response and the many compassionate people interested in supporting Safe Moves for Seniors – Polk. 💚

Applications are now closed.

WE’RE HIRING! CLIENT & COMMUNITY SERVICES COORDINATOR

Organized Haven is hiring a compassionate, resourceful professional to support the work of Safe Moves for Seniors - Polk.

Safe Moves for Seniors helps older adults experiencing financial hardship move into safer, more appropriate living environments. The people who contact us may also be navigating health changes, housing instability, family stress, grief, or other difficult circumstances. We need someone who can meet them with patience, empathy, sound judgment, and strong professional boundaries.

This part-time position will focus on:
• Compassionate client intake and follow-up
• Community-resource navigation
• Communication with families and referral sources
• Coordination with Organized Haven and approved service partners
• Community relationship-building
• Volunteer coordination
• Fundraising and development support
• Accurate, confidential documentation

Our ideal candidate may have experience in social work, senior services, human services, healthcare navigation, housing, nonprofit programs, community outreach, or a related helping profession. A clinical license is not required.

This person will be employed and paid through Organized Haven while primarily supporting Safe Moves for Seniors – Polk. The coordinator will work closely with Nicole Ramer, Executive Director, and regularly communicate with Sherry, Organized Haven’s Executive Assistant, regarding service availability and scheduling.

POSITION: Client & Community Services Coordinator
LOCATION: Polk County, Florida
SCHEDULE: Part-time (hybrid). Initially 4–6 hours per week, with flexibility based on client and program needs. The position is intended to grow as Safe Moves for Seniors – Polk expands its funding, partnerships, and community reach.
COMPENSATION: $22–$26 per hour, based on relevant experience and qualifications.

The right person will be warm, calm, organized, dependable, comfortable having emotionally sensitive conversations, and genuinely committed to helping older adults through difficult transitions.

To apply, please email your résumé and a brief introduction to [email protected] by 9/30/2026. Tell us why this mission speaks to you, describe your relevant experience, and include your general availability.

Please help us share this opportunity with someone who may be a wonderful fit for our mission! 💙

08/14/2026

A few weeks ago, we shared the story of a local senior whose home had become unsafe around him. Years of accumulated belongings, loss, declining mobility, and conditions he could no longer manage on his own had reached a point where he needed more than encouragement. He needed people willing to show up, and people did! 🙌

Because of donors from our community, Safe Moves for Seniors, in collaboration with Organized Haven, Busy Bees Cleaning Service, and Truly Nolan Pest Control, has now helped move this home through major debris removal, ongoing professional pest treatment, and an intensive deep cleaning. The difference is remarkable. Once inaccessible spaces can be used again, surfaces have been uncovered and cleaned, and this week the Busy Bees team put an extraordinary amount of care and labor into giving this gentleman a fresher, safer place to live...THANK YOU, Linda and Michael Moccaldi!

But these photos aren't the end of his story.

Removing the clutter also uncovered problems we couldn't fully see before. There are areas of deteriorated, soft flooring that need repair. His bathroom does not adequately support his changing mobility needs. There are still belongings to sort, areas requiring additional cleaning and organization, and household essentials that need to be replaced. We have donated living room furniture waiting for delivery and are also hoping to locate a lift chair that will make everyday movement easier for him.

Perhaps most importantly, we're now asking whether repairing this home is really the best long-term answer. His housing costs are increasing, the structural needs are significant, and we're actively helping him explore affordable housing where he can remain connected to the Lakeland community that matters so much to him.

The donations received so far have accomplished something very real, and you can see it in these pictures. But our funding has been stretched across debris removal, disposal, pest treatment, professional cleaning, and the many smaller necessities involved in restoring a home this compromised. There is still more work to do, and additional donations would allow us to keep going.

This is what Safe Moves for Seniors was created to do: find the senior who has fallen through the cracks, bring the right people together, restore safety and dignity where we can, and keep looking for the next solution when cleaning up a home isn't enough.

If you've been following his story and wondering whether your contribution would really make a difference, it already has, and there's still an opportunity to be part of what happens next.

Current needs include continued project funding, a suitable lift chair, help toward remaining home-safety needs, and connections to truly affordable senior housing in the Lakeland area.

We are incredibly grateful to every donor who has helped make this transformation possible, and to Organized Haven, Busy Bees Cleaning Services, and Truly Nolan Pest Control for putting hands, hearts, and professional expertise behind this mission. ❤

07/17/2026

Sometimes clutter isn't created by collecting too much; it's created by losing too much. 😔

This week I met a gentleman who welcomed me into his home with visible embarrassment. Before we ever walked through the house, he quietly explained how he got here.

Within the same year 5 years ago, he lost his wife to thyroid cancer and then lost his mother-in-law just months later. As we stood in his living room, he looked around and said: "I just frankly gave up."

Five simple words. Five years of grief. Five years of trying to survive instead of live.

Since then, declining health has made even ordinary household tasks difficult. He still works part-time because his Social Security barely covers his living expenses, yet his greatest concern wasn't himself - it was apologizing for the condition of his home.

But this isn't a story about clutter; it's a story about hope.

Just three weeks ago, he scattered his wife's ashes at one of their favorite places together. He told me, "There's no sense in me keeping her ashes." Later he shared that he had even let go of their wedding rings because, in his words, "It's just stuff." As we continued talking, he looked at me and said, "I'm ready... There's a lot of stuff I want to let go."

That was the moment I knew this isn't someone refusing help; this is someone finally ready to receive it.

Our team has developed a restoration plan that includes professional organizing, sorting, disposal, pest management, and restoration cleaning - services that are essential, but well beyond this gentleman's financial means.

Today, I'm asking our community to help us write the next chapter of this story.

If your family has ever been touched by grief, if you've ever watched someone become overwhelmed by circumstances beyond their control, or if you simply believe every senior deserves to live safely and with dignity, would you consider making a contribution toward this restoration project?

Every dollar will go directly toward helping restore this home and giving one of our neighbors the fresh start he is finally ready to embrace.

If you'd like to help, please send us a private message or visit https://donorbox.org/safe-moves-for-seniors-lakeland-fl.

Thank you for believing that no one should have to rebuild their life alone. ❤️

06/03/2026

Yesterday, one senior's moving crisis was solved because someone chose to help.

What isn't shown in this video is how often seniors find themselves caught in the gap between "too much income to qualify for assistance" and "not enough income to afford the help they need."

At Safe Moves for Seniors, we see it every day.

Across the country, many Safe Moves chapters have exhausted their funding or operate with extremely limited resources because the need is far greater than the support available. The reality is that there are thousands of older adults who need help downsizing, relocating, or transitioning into safer housing, but there simply aren't enough dollars to serve everyone.

This week, thanks to an incredibly generous donor, one Polk County senior will receive the help she needs.

We're sharing this story not just to celebrate a happy ending, but to highlight a need that exists in communities everywhere.

Every donation, referral, partnership, and volunteer effort helps another senior avoid facing these challenges alone.

Thank you for helping us keep seniors moving safely. ❤️

05/05/2026

Grateful for leaders like Amber Farrer at Spring Haven Retirement! 🤝

Amber, thank you for taking the time to connect and for jumping in so wholeheartedly to help identify resources for one of our Safe Moves for Seniors - Polk participants. Your willingness to share contacts and think through solutions in real time truly makes a difference for individuals who are navigating very complex situations.

This is what meaningful collaboration looks like - people coming together to create better outcomes for seniors in our community. I appreciate you and the heart you bring to everything you do! 💙

12/18/2025

We are incredibly honored to share that Safe Moves for Seniors was selected as one of six recipients of the Better Living for Seniors of Polk County “BLFS Gives Back” award, receiving a $1,000 grant 💙

This generous gift will go directly toward helping older adults who are moving into safer, more affordable housing but don’t have the financial means to get there. Sometimes, that last $1,000 is the difference between staying stuck - and starting fresh.

Thank you to the Better Living for Seniors members who voted for us and continue to support nonprofits making a real impact in Polk County. We are so grateful to be part of a community that truly shows up for seniors.

💙🚚📦

12/02/2025

It’s Giving Tuesday, and today, we’re inviting our community to be part of something truly meaningful!

Safe Moves for Seniors - Polk helps older adults move out of unsafe or unstable living conditions and into places where they can age with dignity. These moves often happen after medical crises, financial hardship, or major life changes, and your support ensures we can say “yes” when a senior needs us most.

Last week, we were humbled by an anonymous $1,000 donation that will fully sponsor our next senior move. Acts of generosity like this remind us that our community is full of helpers - people who believe that every older adult deserves safety, stability, and support.

If you feel called to make a difference this Giving Tuesday, we’d be grateful for your partnership through donations, advocacy, or simply sharing our mission with others.

https://www.safemovesforseniors.org/lakeland

And tomorrow, we’ll be wrapping gifts with the team at Home Instead for the Be A Santa To A Senior - Lakeland - Polk County program. You’re invited to join us:

🎁 10:30 AM–12 PM
📍 Home Instead Lakeland — 810 E Main St, Lakeland, FL

Together, we can show our seniors they’re not alone. 💗

11/20/2025

11/18/2025

We are honored to share that Safe Moves for Seniors – Polk has been nominated by the members of Better Living for Seniors – Polk County for one of their 2025 BLFS Gives Back awards! 💙

Tomorrow morning, I’ll be speaking briefly to BLFS members about the impact this program is making in Polk County — and how we are helping seniors in crisis move safely, with dignity and support.

In the meantime, you can view our full presentation here.

This presentation highlights the lives we’ve touched, the urgent needs we’re responding to, and why this support matters so deeply for seniors facing unsafe or unstable housing.

Thank you, BLFS, for this nomination — and thank you to our community for standing with us as we make sure no senior in need faces a move alone. ❤️