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FAIRFIELD – Mindy Smith and her daughter Shy Haumersen have moved their business Smith’s Helping Hands to downtown Fairfield.

The business held a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors on Tuesday, July 29, its first day at its new location at 117 E. Burlington Ave., less than a block east of the square.

Smith’s Helping Hands offers in-home care for all ages, and their clients range from the elderly, those with disabilities, and those recovering from surgery or illness. And now thanks to its move to the downtown, the business can offer a spacious room where clients and their caregivers can relax in comfortable chairs, sipping coffee while putting together a puzzle, playing a game, or doing a craft. For those who want to be more active, the business also hosts group exercises.

Smith said she and Haumersen only needed to do minimal remodeling to the building, recently occupied by Scarlett & Co., which had significantly renovated it. Smith’s husband Lance, who works as a day-time supervisor at Agri-Industrial Plastics, made a table and front desk that adorn the building’s interior. He also made the giant heart-shaped logo that hangs on the wall. Smith said other pieces of furniture came from The Well in Fairfield and Habitat ReStore.

“We try to support the local community,” she said.

Those who want to try out the business’s services can come for one free hour. Smith said that the cost of services depends on the level of care required, from minimal assistance all the way up to having a one-on-one caregiver. The building is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and Smith said that when she’s not staffing the front desk, she’s busy doing in-home visits. She and her daughter have 12 employees, and her daughter is a full-time nursing student at Indian Hills Community College, where she will graduate in May 2026 with her bachelor’s degree and her certification as a registered nurse.

Smith grew up in Pleasant Plain and attended the Fairfield Community School District. She got into health care about 25 years ago after her daughter and son were born. Her son, Giuseppi, was diagnosed with brain cancer, and her daughter moved in with the family to be his full-time caregiver so that Smith could work. This personal tribulation showed the Smith family the need for in-home care, and inspired Shy to go into business with her mother. Today, Giuseppi is cancer-free and lives in Ottumwa.

Mindy and Shy previously worked out of an apartment that doubled as their office. They needed more space to store all of their supplies, and Smith wanted to create a place where patients and caregivers could go to respite services, a place to hang out while knowing that their loved ones were being cared for. And that’s exactly what the team at Smith’s Helping Hands has created at 117 East Burlington.