Someone to care, with patience, for your loved one.
When distance keeps you from the people you love most, one of us goes in your place. A background-checked helper visits your elderly or disabled family member at home — unhurried company, help with the small things, and hands-on help claiming the aid they're owed — and then writes to tell you how they are. No charge. No clock. Ever.
A physician of the early Church who healed without payment.
“Freely you have received; freely give.”Matthew 10:8 · the calling of the unmercenary healers
Care that does not watch the clock.
The Orthodox Church remembers a line of physicians — the Holy Unmercenaries — who treated the poor and took nothing for it. Our patron, Panteleimon, was one of them. We are not physicians; we are ordinary neighbors. But we try to practice the same two disciplines: care given freely, and care given patiently. A visit lasts as long as it needs to. The conversation is not rushed toward the door. And the family always hears how it went — in writing, every time.
- ✚Unhurried companyNot a wellness robocall — a person at the table, for as long as it takes.
- ✚Groceries, errands & small choresThe mail, the bins, the top shelf, the lightbulb.
- ✚A benefits check-upWhat are they enrolled in — and what Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP, or VA help are they owed but not using?
- ✚Paperwork, start to finishWe don't point at a website. We sit with them, gather the documents, fill out the forms, and follow up until it's approved.
- ✚A quiet safety look-aroundMeds within reach? Hallway lit? Rug corners flat?
- ✚Word home, afterEvery visit ends with an email to the person who asked for it.
Representative imagery.
Four small steps, start to finish.
The request
Tell us who they are, where they live, and what would ease your mind. Two minutes, no account, no app.
The neighbor
Your loved one is matched with a vetted helper who lives within ten miles of their door — someone from their own corner of the world.
The visit
Company, chores, and a look at what aid programs they're on — and what they're missing. If there's a Medicare window closing or a VA claim to file, we help start it right there. Nothing is rushed; the visit takes as long as it takes.
The word home
Before the day is out, you get an email: how they seemed, what was done, anything worth keeping an eye on.
Do we reach their street yet?
Type the address where your loved one lives and we'll check it against our helpers' ten-mile circles. We are honestly, proudly small: two helper areas in Tampa, Florida — Hyde Park and Tampa Palms — and we would rather show you that truth than a map painted with dots.
Two helper areas today · growing carefully.
Tell us who needs a patient friend.
From: visits@stpanteleimons.org · To: you@example.com
Subject: We just visited your loved one — all is well
Hello there,
Our helper just finished today's visit with your loved one in their neighborhood. Here is the word home:
- You asked for: unhurried company
- How they seemed: (the helper's own words go here)
- Worth keeping an eye on: (anything flagged goes here)
With patience and care,
St Panteleimon's Community Helpers
The word home is written from the helper's visit report and emailed to you after every visit.
Answers for worried hearts.
Who are the helpers?
Every helper is a background-checked neighbor who lives within 10 miles of the people they visit. We are brand new — two helper areas so far, Hyde Park and Tampa Palms in Tampa, Florida — and growing carefully, not quickly.
Do we have to be Orthodox — or religious at all?
No. We take our name and our example from the Orthodox tradition of unmercenary care, and many of our helpers are parishioners — but we visit any neighbor who needs us, of any faith or none, and a visit is never a sermon.
Can helpers give medical care or advice?
No. Helpers are not medical professionals and don't provide first aid, medication management, or clinical care of any kind. If your loved one needs medical attention, we contact you and, if needed, emergency services. What we do provide is patient, hands-on help navigating Medicare, Medicaid, VA benefits, and other aid programs — paperwork most people are owed but never claim.
How much does a visit cost?
Nothing, ever. Freely you have received; freely give — our patron healed without payment, and so do we. Visits are funded entirely by donations.
Right now, visits are funded by the founder. A public giving page is coming soon.
How do I know the visit happened?
The moment a helper completes a visit, you receive an email with a short summary — how your loved one is doing, what was done, and anything that needs a follow-up.
Chazz Jeremie
St Panteleimon's began with a simple question — who checks on the people we love when we can't be there? — and the old conviction that the answer should cost a family nothing. Chazz started the Helpers to make patient, unmercenary care an ordinary thing in his own neighborhood.