When a Red Cliffs Aboriginal home care package client asked his Uniting AgeWell care provider to check in on his mate who he believed could benefit from a similar service, Judy Egan realised afresh that the organisation was on the right track.
Judy, Regional Manager Loddon Mallee Home Care Programs, has quietly been teaching her staff the cultural knowledge she acquired about the First Peoples through the many years she spent working in the Northern Territory.
And this knowledge is helping inform the way services are being delivered to Aboriginal clients in this regional area of Victoria – a step towards helping Close the Gap through facilitating an improved quality of life for older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
Judy says home care packages are available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders from the age of 50 to help provide earlier identification, support and management of the many chronic health conditions they experience at a higher rate and at an earlier age than the broader population.
Uniting AgeWell has a growing number of Aboriginal direct care workers, and Judy says where possible they’re asked to help set up the initial service arrangement for Indigenous clients and facilitate valuable insight into the client and their family’s specific needs.
“We have found that connecting with the local Elders is an important part of the process,” Judy says. “Respecting that trauma from the past is carried down through the generations, Uniting AgeWell understands that we need to give older First Nation People the space to learn and trust us as an organisation first. And we must always respect there may be reluctance to pass on personal information – this will come once respect and trust has been earned and built.”
Integral too, is to understand the vital role the extended family plays in clients’ lives, as well as the pull to return to their roots, especially during palliative care.
Judy says funerals can last from one to five days, and the rich traditions are strictly observed, like male mourners wearing black pants and a white shirt, cleansing the house where the person died with a smoking ceremony and not uttering again the name of the person who has passed away.
“The pull to their land is particularly powerful,” Judy explains. “Attention to important details like ensuring the older person’s bedroom has a window or door looking outdoors, certainly enhances wellbeing.”
Uniting AgeWell’s new wing at its Latrobe Community, Strathdevon in North West Tasmania included rooms designed with and for people from the Indigenous community.
Judy says there is a growing need for respite care, but for some clients this proves problematic as there is a reluctance to leave family. “What I try to emphasize with our First Nations clients is that it’s not what we think is best but what they want, and then how we can work with them and their family to make it happen,” Judy says.
Swan Hill-based Indigenous direct care worker, Iree Paul, says “Many Indigenous families value Aboriginal care providers so it would be great if more knew that Uniting AgeWell employs Indigenous carers, is a culturally safe organisation and can provide tailored care packages to suit their individual needs.”
Iree, who also teaches dance programs to First Nations youth, joined Uniting AgeWell a month ago and says “it’s the best job I’ve ever had!”
She feels supported, encouraged and empowered to grow. “I’d love to rise up through the ranks one day,” Iree says.
Uniting AgeWell Director of Mission, Clare Brockett, says this account is a glimpse into the Uniting Church and Uniting AgeWell’s mission and values in action; listening deeply to the needs of First Peoples, earning and building trust, and walking respectfully with them.
“We are grateful to Iree and other Indigenous staff for the gifts and skills they bring to their work,” Clare says. “We thank them, along with Judy, for their willingness to help Uniting AgeWell be part of closing the gap, in this case, by tailoring care packages to individual needs.”