A Community

on their shoulders. For example, a caring neighbour may put out/bring in someone’s bins for many months or even years. But what pressure might be felt if one day they become unable to continue the task, or their neighbour’s needs increase? Individual acts of care should be backed up by a more supportive system, reducing the feeling that the burden of care rests on their shoulders alone.”

Carers themselves need to live physically and emotionally healthy lives to sustain themselves and their activities. “If it ‘takes a village to raise a child’, then it’s also fair to say that it ‘takes an active community to care for the vulnerable’.”

Take the case of John Davy, a much-valued LINK client whom staff have come to address as “Uncle John”. He says that one of the most precious things he and his wife, Preeni, have received in the way of help was given during COVID lockdowns, when so many people felt scared, lonely and isolated.

On a weekly basis, John and his wife would get a call from the LINK team, checking in on how they were faring. He said that one small gesture “meant the world” to them. They knew they were not alone.

But that wasn’t the only support the couple received. “One day my lovely neighbour popped in, mentioning she was going to the supermarket and asked if I needed anything,” John recalls.

“I said, ‘Thank you, yes, but what I need, you can’t get!’ Apparently undeterred by John’s progno,sis, the kind lady returned later in the day and in her arms, she held rolls of toilet paper.

For Danny Davis, LINK’s nurturing and support of systems that will help create an integrated community of care can will, make life far easier for clients and the people in their lives who truly represent the notion of caring communities. ACG

If you’re a carer and need support, call LINK on 1300 546 528 or contact support@lct.org.au. Learn more about LINK at lct.org.au.