Over 30 years ago, Lucimara Galo immigrated to the United States from Brazil in hopes of a better life. Now, she helps others improve the quality of theirs.

Galo owns Luci’s Loving Care, a home care business that helps seniors with physical and/or mental disabilities with everyday tasks in their home and provides companionship. She helps with grocery shopping, transportation and companionship services, among other services.

While Galo caters to clients in the Hilltowns, where she resides, she also helps people living in other parts of western Massachusetts, including Amherst and Northampton.

After working at a home care agency for 17 years, Galo started her own business in 2022 because she felt like working for a larger company didn’t allow her to deliver the quality of care she wanted to give to her clients. Over time, the calls began pouring in.

Luci’s Loving Care has become a family business, with husband James Durant providing transportation and son Kevin Brasil serving as business manager. Her team, which also includes several part-time workers, is small, but close-knit and high-quality, according to Galo.

Galo named her business “Luci’s Loving Care” because she felt it was important to have a name that reflected what she did — both the physical, practical care such as cleaning and shopping, and companionship, something she prides herself on. The name also reflects the care she gave to her late father-in-law, Richard Durant, a U.S. Navy veteran. Galo says that her father-in-law was, in many ways, her first client.

Her relationship with her own father also shaped Luci’s Loving Care to be the business that it is today. She was unable to be with her father when he died in Brazil, but today she channels her love for him into the clients she serves.

“I do this from the bottom of my heart,” Galo said. “I think this type of business ... is a call. It’s not just a business to make money. I want to be [in] the field, and that’s what makes the difference [in] my own business.”

She says it’s important for families to have the ability to give their loved ones the dignity and comfort of staying in their homes.

“I think I’m giving them the opportunity to ... yell for help, without saying, ‘I’m failing [at] taking care of my own parents,’ because this is not their fault. It’s life,” Galo said.

Galo said that a son of a client once told her that she was his eyes when he couldn’t be there to look after his mother. Other families trust her to advocate for their loved ones when they aren’t present. She says the first time she meets a family, she tells them she will do her best to take care of their loved one, and over time, she feels like part of the family.

Galo says that she is sometimes the only person a client sees during the day because they live alone, and they just want to talk to someone.

“Sometimes I’m there cooking, but what they really want is to have … a conversation with [me],” she said. “No matter what I’m doing in their house that day, it’s [an opportunity] for them to tell me a story about their lives.”

Cherishing longtime client

She visits one of her long-time clients, James Magdalenski, several times a week. As Magdalenski was settling into his chair on a recent weekday, Galo tinkered with the TV, asking if it was working because it hadn’t been function a week earlier. Eventually, the TV flickered on.

“I think she’s a wonderful person, very sociable, good to have around, very good to talk to,” said Magdalenski as Galo sat next to him.

He described her as “joyous,” brightening up the place when she came to visit. When Galo visits him, they sometimes take walks together. Other times, she just comes into his room and sits as he tells her stories.

Galo says that she develops relationships with clients that go beyond transactional — one of the most difficult parts of the job, she says, is being there for the family when a client is dying. On eight or nine occasions, she’s been there when a client has died. Galo says that she feels like the most important thing she can do for families is provide peace of mind and empathy when families are going through a difficult time.

Another service Galo provides is helping families find hard-to-access resources. Galo says that there are a lot of misconceptions about hospice as a place where someone dies within a few days, but in truth they have services that families don’t know much about.

Galo views herself as an advocate for the people she cares for as they face loneliness, financial and health challenges. The goal is to ensure that they can stay home safely and receive the best quality care with dignity, respect and love.

“I think this is in ... my heart,” she said. “I want to show that this is not just going in there and do[ing] things and go[ing] home ... I always want to go above and beyond on everything that I do.”

She says that one of the most rewarding parts of home care is seeing people she cares for make progress, and that a family opening their home to her to take care of their loved ones involves a lot of trust and vulnerability.

Galo saw one of her clients, Susan Garrett, through Garrett’s cancer treatment. Garrett says that her health coordinator gave her Galo’s information, adding, “thank God she did.”

“Luci didn’t just take care of me, she helped me live,” said Garrett.

During a recent visit, Galo reached over to hold Garrett’s hand as she talked.

“Luci got me through dark days when I felt like giving up,” she said.

Garrett says that Galo gave her pep talks when she was feeling low, helping her with her physical, emotional and spiritual health. One thing that Galo did that she continues to use as a tool is a journal where she writes down good things that have happened to her.

Holding the pink journal with a blue “S” patch on it, Garrett said that she continues to use it as a tool for reflection and gratitude.

“At the beginning, we were all strangers,” Garrett said, looking at Galo.

“At the end, we become family,” Galo finished.