Caregiving through – Jake Benoit, 26, of Durham, North Carolina, is a nursing graduate-student at Duke University and uses his caregiving work to support himself through school. Through his role with Careyaya, he has formed unusually close relationships with older adults—including
When Jake Benoit drives an older adult to church on Sunday, he’s not just doing a shift. For Benoit, it’s the kind of routine that slowly rewires your sense of who you’re serving—and who you become in the process.
Benoit is 26 and from Durham, North Carolina. He is studying for a master’s in nursing at Duke University, and one of the ways he supports himself is by working for an agency called Careyaya, which employs young volunteers and students like him.
He describes the work as a “Lyft for families who need eldercare.” Families go onto the platform, apply for their preferred number of hours of companionship, and are matched with a background-checked carer.
Benoit says the job is paid between $18 and $26 an hour. But the salary is not what he remembers most. What has stayed with him are the relationships—older adults he says he’s had the privilege to know well enough to call friends.
Fourteen years earlier. long before he was in nursing school. Benoit was spending afternoons at his mother’s outpatient clinic after school. His mother is an occupational therapist. As a child. he watched her help clients with hand mobility issues complete daily tasks such as brushing their teeth. dressing. and cooking.
He says he didn’t understand it then, but the devotion his mother brought to her work left a lasting imprint. Clients told him, “Your mom changed my life.” The pride his mother took in her work planted seeds that later helped pull him toward caregiving.
In the spring of 2024, Benoit met John—one of his first clients. John was an ophthalmologist who retired at 94 two years before Benoit met him. Benoit remembers John as extremely curious, open, and willing to share his wisdom and experience. From the start. John wanted to talk about his life and Benoit’s life. and despite the age difference. Benoit considered him one of his best friends.
Their time together carried the ordinary texture of care, and the closeness of conversation. Benoit would drive John to church on Sunday, and they would often get something to eat later. John had mild dementia. Benoit says that afterward, their discussions about the sermon were “incredibly nuanced,” a steady source of inspiration for him.
They played card games, including Uno, and talked for hours between activities. John sometimes had minor agitation because of his condition. Careyaya trains carers in ways to divert attention and help someone return to a baseline of contentment. Benoit said that going on Spotify, asking about favorite music, and playing it are examples of techniques he learned.
Even though John was ambulatory, Benoit often helped him walk to the restroom. He also made him a snack and organized his pill containers.
When John died, Benoit says his grief was met with something else—his daughter sent him the longest, heartfelt email that made him cry. He has gone on to care for other clients who he says mean the world to him.
One client is an accomplished 85-year-old author who has traveled the world. Benoit says she has moderate mobility issues. and his responsibilities include keeping her legs elevated and making sure she uses her compression device. With her. he says they watch old movies like “Breakfast at Tiffany’s. ” “Roman Holiday. ” and “Lawrence of Arabia.” He calls it wonderful to hear her interpretation of the films.
Benoit says caring for older adults like them is a major reason he plans to become a nurse practitioner.
He also cares for an 86-year-old former US ambassador to the Middle East who faithfully wrote his memoirs. Benoit says they read through the pages together and he asks questions and clarifying points. As the conversation progresses. he says it becomes easier for the ambassador to sustain longer trains of thought and for his memory to sharpen. Benoit describes the work as something that feels reciprocal—he says he’s come to love the feeling of knowing someone is grateful for his impact on them as much as he is for theirs on him.
The stories Benoit carries are not abstract. They are built out of hours scheduled on a platform. background checks. and the daily rhythms of companionship—church trips. meals. card games. and quiet care routines that turn into something more than service. And for a nursing student trying to get through school. it has become both a job and a direction: a path toward becoming a nurse practitioner.
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