FINALLY IN GREAT COMPANY
“WITHOUT THEM I’D BE STARVING.” IT WAS THAT SIMPLE.
J
ohn Steele is an 89-year-old living in government housing in Coolangatta who, after several strokes, has lost most of the use of his hands and relies on in-home services to prepare meals for him. But when his service provider told him the company was closing down for Christmas, John didn't know what to do. “The people I usually see went on holidays, so I was going to have to go just over a month without anything,” says John. He called people care provider, Feros Care and 25-year-old Julia Pettet answered the phone. “John was extremely distressed about his situation, and we just knew that we had to step into action and help”, says Julia. “Due to the way the federal funding is set up we couldn't help him through the official channels until we got government approvals, so I called 20
FEROS MAGAZINE
our volunteer team instead who got straight into action.” Feros Care's volunteer program, In Great Company, links people with, or waiting for, a government-funded Home Care Package with a volunteer visitor for regular one-on-one help, in-home visits, social outings, group activities, virtual community sessions or social phone calls. In Great Company Program Manager Emma Moore says “the program supports almost 300 people nationally, who live both independently in their own homes, and in residential care. Many of our seniors experience very real isolation and loneliness in our community, and In Great Company matches these people to like-minded and skilled volunteers who help people maintain their independence and connection to community”. “The response we've had from volunteers is fantastic overall, but seeing how everyone came together
to support John was absolutely heartening, there are so many kind people in our communities who want to help,” says Emma. “In John's case we had one woman donate a whole trolley of groceries in memory of her late son, while several volunteers put their hands up to cook over the whole Christmas period so he didn't go hungry. “We discovered John has a love for fresh food so we want to make sure he has access to that.” For John, fresh food has played a big role in his life but sadly it is something he rarely gets. “I usually live on pies, rissoles and sausages because that's all I can make but I find now I can't even cook the sausages and rissoles with my bad hands,” he says. “Both my parents were cooks. They met when they were cooking on cruise ships so we always cooked fresh food growing up.
