Leaving a successful career to start over is a risk at any age.
For Montrealer Domenic Conte, it was a leap he took at 55 years old. He traded a six-figure salary in information technology to launch Heart2Faith, a home care service focused on supporting seniors.
Conte said the decision came from a strong personal calling and growing concern about how elderly people are treated.
Heart.2Faith logo (Courtesy: Instagram/heart.2Faith)
“I felt it upon my heart to start something different, and home care kept coming back to my mind,” said Conte, president of Heart2Faith Home Care Service.
“I know the elderly are not always taken care of as they should be.”
His motivation is rooted in his own family experience, particularly caring for his grandmother after the death of his grandfather.
“My grandfather died when I was about 11 or 12, so my grandma was left alone,” Conte said. “She was about 80 per cent blind, so it made it impossible for her to live by herself. My mom was working at the time, so I took it upon myself to help out.”
Conte’s mother, Lucy Conte, said keeping her own mother at home was a promise she was determined to keep.
“My mom made me promise we wouldn’t put her in a home,” said Lucy. “She was only 71 years old. It wasn’t always easy. I had my own apartment, so I was going back and forth all the time. Dominic was a great help. When I couldn’t be there, he was.”
Domenic Conte now shares those experiences with students, including during a recent visit to Montreal’s Nesbitt Elementary School, where he spoke about empathy and caring for vulnerable people.
“Put yourself in their situation and see how you would feel,” he said. “I tell my employees you need two things: compassion, treating clients like family, and passion. Not doing it for the paycheque, but because you truly care.”
Seeing the impact of that approach reinforces his decision.
“We visited one of our clients a couple of weeks ago, and she said she loves her caregiver, that she’s her adopted daughter,” he said. “When I walk into an environment and see happiness and joy, I know I’m doing something right.”
Lucy Conte said respect and love are essential as parents age.
“It’s important that elderly parents feel loved, not tolerated,” she said. “They need to be respected for who they are. There’s so much wisdom there. They’ve been through a lot. We need to listen to them and love them.”
