Emerald Caregiving has been flexible and able to help us when we had unexpected care needs. My…read morehusband had a bad fall and I contacted Emerald to see if they could provide a caretaker for us immediately and they did. They are always polite, respectful and reassuring. We've had to change schedules a few times and were able to do it smoothly. Our caretaker has been with us for almost a year. She is a wonderful caretaker. She has treated my husband with patience, willing to help him in whatever way he needs. She is a reliable, hard working, honest and always pleasant person.

Emerald and her team took such good care of my father. They loved, watched over him as if he were…read moretheir own. Although we had to move him, he still talks about and remembers each and every one. I highly recommend!

I am an independent professional caregiver with a lot of experience watching local agencies provide…read morepersonal care, and I have the utmost respect for Senior Helpers. They are a company with a sincere mission of providing skilled, dependable care. A well-run company with both brains and heart. Both my own experience with them, and the experiences others have reported to me, have been outstanding. I highly recommend talking to owner Susan Grant at the El Cerrito Senior Helpers' office about your caregiving needs for yourself or a loved one. I do not hesitate to refer potential clients to them when my work schedule is full, and I love visiting their office in El Cerrito Plaza, because it is an oasis of calm and peace... full of friendly people who really want to engage and help you. I would encourage anyone thinking about getting into this field as a professional caregiver to talk to Susan about a career with Senior Helpers. They are a fair and equitable employer, and care as deeply about their employees as about their clients. There is no other agency I know of that I would make any of these claims about. Nor is there any other agency I would recommend working for. In my observation and based on my research, most are exploitative and poorly run. Save yourself time and energy and start with the best when you are looking for a caregiver, or for work in the field...call Senior Helpers in El Cerrito.

I am writing this review to document serious concerns regarding the care my family received from…read moreSenior Helpers while providing in-home assistance for my mother, who was terminally ill with glioblastoma brain cancer. It has taken me over a year to write this, as the experience was emotionally draining and deeply upsetting. Senior Helpers was originally recommended for light assistance, but my mother required hospice-level care. Management represented that caregivers assigned to our home would be trained for this level of care. Based on our experience, this was not consistently the case. Multiple caregivers demonstrated limited training in personal hygiene, patient mobility, medication handling, and overnight monitoring. I personally had to step in or assist on numerous occasions. Some caregivers stated their training consisted primarily of instructional videos. While several individuals were kind and well-intentioned, they did not appear adequately prepared for end-of-life care. There were several patient safety concerns, including: A medication administration error in which more than the intended dose was given, despite clear instructions that caregivers were not to administer medications at all. Improper assistance with patient mobility, even though appropriate equipment was available. Overnight shifts where required monitoring did not occur. Specific instructions regarding my mother's physical limitations being ignored, resulting in a fall (thankfully without serious injury). Caregivers sleeping or using personal phones for extended periods during scheduled shifts. Additionally, a member of management charged me cash during a home visit that I was later told was supposed to be free. When I raised this issue, it was denied despite the interaction being documented on in-home cameras. These incidents were documented and shared with management. Responses generally focused on staff replacement and billing rather than addressing broader concerns related to training, supervision, or systemic issues. Staffing reliability was also inconsistent. Some caregivers arrived late, some shifts went uncovered, and continuity of care was limited. A small number of caregivers were excellent, but they were the exception rather than the norm. When I raised concerns with management and ownership, communication was difficult and unprofessional, and many questions went unanswered. Contractual notice requirements limited our ability to immediately discontinue services despite ongoing safety concerns. We eventually transitioned to another care provider. After doing so, my mother's care stabilized, and the overall stress in our home decreased significantly. Based on our experience, I would urge extreme caution when considering Senior Helpers for hospice-level or complex medical care. Families in similar situations should carefully evaluate caregiver training, supervision practices, and escalation procedures--and read the contract closely. Update: 1/7/2026 In response to the owner's reply requesting that I reach out by phone, I did so today. I left a message stating that I was returning the owner's request for contact and noted that I preferred not to speak with the manager due to prior communication difficulties. Approximately 15 minutes later, I received a call from that same manager. She was polite, expressed surprise at my experience, and stated that she did not recall our prior interactions. I responded calmly and professionally. The call lasted approximately three minutes. The conversation was brief and respectful on both sides. Later this afternoon, I was contacted by my local police department and informed that a complaint had been made alleging that my call involved threatening language or profanity. Those allegations do not reflect my recollection of the call, which was professional in tone and made solely in response to the owner's public request for contact. I explained this context and was advised not to contact the company again. I agreed. Thankfully both conversations were recorded by my security cam with time & day stamps. The officer said I could file a false police report, but decided I just needed to more on... and so should you.

Not being familiar with this industry and needing home care for an elderly, ill relative, Senior…read moreAlternatives far exceeded any expectations. Not only were they totally responsive and flexible to our needs, the caregivers they sent out were professional, hard-working, and so compassionate. I can't say enough good things about the company and the people who work there. Home health care isn't cheap, but it is essential to ease the burden on family members. Senior Alternatives was very reasonable for the high quality of service they provided. My thanks to Anna, Veronica, the staff, and all the wonderful caregivers who helped my unlce during his last days.

Very responsive. All of the caregivers that have been sent to me have been really wonderful.read more

Called this outfit in an emergency need (missing scheduled caregiver for next day). Mark said he'd…read morebe glad to help. Minimum 8 hours at $35/hour, weekdays. Less than 8 hours the charge is $50/hour. Since my sister lives in an adjacent town to San Rafael they also charge 2 extra hours for travel there (an extra $100). So a 4 hour morning care would cost her $300! I kept looking.

Gentle Care was Great, On-Spot, with attention to detail and communication when needed. I would…read morehighly recommend anyone in need to contact them. My family and I received immediate communication, follow through during the toughest of times and with kind, caring & professional in home care. Highly recommended

Beacon Home Care seriously takes pride in caring for their clients and choosing the right…read morecaregivers that suited to the clients. The agency deserves high praise and continuous patronage. Its mission and motivation are highly recommended and appreciated.

Beacon is excellent! High quality!…read moreAll staff are approachable and reliable! Beacon caregivers are educated to their loveones or clients condition! Kudos to Beacon Home Care!

My mother lived here the last seven months of her life and it was truly a heavenly home for her to…read morebe in. Olivia, the owner and main caregiver, is such a wonderful person. She is truly caring and loving yet professional as well. She is a skilled nurse so our family felt very confident regarding the physical well being of our mother. We felt blessed to find 7th Heaven as it is a warm, caring, loving place and as close to being at one's home as we could find. Olivia made sure mom had healthy, tasty food that she liked to eat and kept her clean and comfortable. She also makes sure the residents don't just stay in their rooms or beds but has them in the living room which is open to the kitchen so it is a very inviting environment. As I mentioned, Olivia does all this with such care, love and grace. We are forever grateful for Olivia and such a wonderful place.

Funny I just read the review recently posted by another person who coincidentally has same name as…read moremy mother, who Olivia cared for during the last 6 or 7 months of her life as well. Well into her 90's, my mom was a bright, cheerful and intelligent woman. Her last couple years were characterized by the typical and in her case rapid diminishing of her ability to communicate and function as an adult. In spite of having no prior history with her, and my mom's increasing irrationality and at times downright stubbornness, Olivia cared for her like a loving daughter would her own mom, allowing us to see her progress to her recent departure with dignity and comfort. It gave us tremendous peace of mind to know that, unlike the facility we moved her out of to be at 7th Heaven, our mother got the best care anyone could hope for, both physically and emotionally. I and my siblings cannot recommend her highly enough, and thank God there are alternatives like 7th Heaven around (and they are not all alike!!)

This is a long overdue review. I just couldn't find the right words or express how wonderful…read moreDajenya is! After trying over five therapist we finally found our savior. She not only extremely helped my son but our relationship too. My son was with her as a child and now as an adult. He graduated from both and I pray that if he's in need again she will be available. She helped us communicate better and understand each other too. He suffers with many mental health obstacles, was diagnosed with autism disorder and disassociation disorder and more. There was an issue that was one of the greatest burden in our relationship. She got to the route of it and was able to get it resolved and see the truth. I'm so deeply appreciative to all her help. I would recommend her 110+% to anyone! She is devoted, understanding, truthful, honest, and there for her clients which is something I haven't seen with many others. Thanks so much Dajenay for all your help and many blessings always!!

What I liked about my grandson's therapy with Dajenya Kafele is he can now have in his words "a…read morenormal life" , with confidence and a higher level of self esteem and the tools to keep it that way. Now my grandson comes up with things he could do if he is having a bad day, he even come up with things I can do if I'm having a bad day. He is now more caring of other people feelings, he has improved in school. And best of all no outburst of anger. I feel confident that his journey through life will be with great confidence. We are very greatful for Dajenya Kafele and for the great work that she does. Thank you Dajenya for helping my grandson.