Liz Redpath’s perfect world is one where no older person is ever lonely or worries about finding transport to go to appointments or to the shops.
Day in and day out she does her bit by assisting and supporting the team at Uniting AgeWell’s Social Connections Program in the Grampians. The service matches Uniting AgeWell volunteers with older people to ensure that social isolation is a thing of the past and also offers volunteer-driven transport.
The Team Leader also gets great joy in seeing how the service enriches not only the lives of older people, but of the volunteers too! “It’s a two-way street,” Liz says. “In giving, volunteers also receive a huge amount of satisfaction and self-worth.”
Liz says since COVID-19, the need for older people to socially interact with the community is greater than ever. “The lockdowns took a toll and caused a dip in confidence and mental health,” she explains. “It took a while for quite a lot of our customers to rejoin programs, but now there’s a feeling out there of making up for time that has been lost.”
Liz, supports the Volunteer Coordinator’s with the programs delivered from Ballarat and Ararat, including Chat A Ring, where volunteers chat to clients over the phone, visit face to face and offer community transport.
Liz leads by example and rolls up her sleeves and helps where needed.
She has been working for the wider organisation for over twelve years, including the transition to becoming Uniting AgeWell as we know it today. She was based in Ararat and now Ballarat and says the values of the organisation of kindness, respect, integrity, innovation and inclusion mirror her own.
Liz enjoys the variety of work at Uniting AgeWell. Over the years she’s recruited and trained volunteers, coordinated transport in Ararat and Ballarat and trained the staff she’s recruited. For the Volunteer Visiting Program she has visited customers in their homes and completed assessments to gain an understanding of how to best meet customer’s needs. You name it, she’s done it.
Her wins are measured in the difference the team can make to people’s lives.
Liz recalls one of her many lump-in-the-throat moments over the years. “There was a husband and wife who used to come out on bus trip outings with us, and they loved it. He was her carer, and she grew more and more frail. The morning she died in his arms, at home, we were one of the first people he called. He reached out to us because he knew we cared. He continued to come on bus trip outings after her death – we were like a second family to him.”
Family is important to Liz. She grew up in Maryborough and worked in retail and hospitality, while she raised her four, now adult children. While working, she studied a Diploma of Counselling. Then she completed a HACC Client Assessment, Case Management Vocational Graduate’s Course at university, which landed her the role of a Do-Care Coordinator with what was then Uniting Care. She then completed a Diploma of Leadership & Management.
“I love what I do,” she says. “I’m really very happy in my role.”
Find out more about a career with Uniting AgeWellIn honour of Aged Care Employee Day we invite you to get to know our team a little better. Read their individual experiences to discover what drove them to build their career in aged care and learn what fulfils them most each day at work.
Uniting AgeWell staff bring diverse experiences through varied and interesting journeys into aged care. They work in our residences, in people’s homes, and remotely, creating a tightly woven and trusted network of professional care and support. They share a passion for making a difference in people’s lives.
Please read some of their stories below and acknowledge the contribution of all our staff by saying #ThanksforCaring.
