Hingham-based Moving in the Right Direction started as a labor of love that was transformed into a business. The company started a year ago, run by business partners Jen Haggerty and Pegeen Doran, acting as a liaison for people, mostly senior citizens, who are downsizing and moving from their homes. We spoke to Haggerty for this story.

Q. Why did you start this company?

A. I was a hospice volunteer at South Shore Hospital and got close to many families and seniors who lost a spouse and had to downsize or move. I’d help them through the process, which can be overwhelming and paralyzing for them. After awhile I thought there may be something to this, so I trained with a couple of women in Maine doing this, then started my own company. Pegeen joined me; she was a realtor, so she knew that end of the business.

Q. Is it just the two of you?

A. So far, but we’ll soon be hiring more — we’re getting pretty busy. We have to bring someone in who has a lot of compassion and patience with seniors. This job takes a certain amount of love; you have to have understanding from their point of view.

Q. How does it work?

A. We start by looking at the floor plan of where they’re moving and help them decide what they can take that will fit and what to get rid of, which can be hard. Someone who’s lived in the same house for 40 years, there’s a memory attached to everything. Then we figure out what they can give to family and friends, what they can sell, what they can donate, and coordinate all that, working with places like Habitat for Humanity and Big Brothers Big Sisters. Then we help them pack, work with their movers, and settle them in. It’s like being a general contractor.

Q. Where do you go, and what’s the cost?

A. We’re basically centered in this area for now, but we’ve done the Cape and up in New Hampshire. The cost ranges from $50 to $75 an hour, which is average for other companies doing this.

Q. You get a lot of satisfaction from helping seniors?

A. Oh, yes, we end up hugging our clients when it’s all done. It’s a very intimate task to move, and as much as we put into it, we end up getting a lot more out of it.

Paul E. Kandarian can be reached at pkandarian @aol.com.