By Mikayla van Loon
As the only dementia specific support service in the Yarra Ranges Shire, Caladenia Dementia Care in Mooroolbark is in need of volunteers to reduce the strain on the current members.
CEO Sarah Yeates said the need for services like the ones offered at Caladenia for both people living with dementia and their carers has been increasing.
“We are noticing a growing need for our services, both for people with younger onset and early onset which is people who are early in their diagnosis for not just social support programs but for assistance with navigating the system and knowing what’s out there,” she said.
Ms Yeates said with a long history of an extensive volunteer base, usually sitting around 45 people, the drop since returning from Covid-19 lockdowns has been evident and challenging to sustain.
“We lost quite a lot of our older volunteers because their health deteriorated or they suddenly had grandparent duties and some volunteers found other volunteer work that fulfilled them during that time.”
Right now the need for volunteers means staff are having to fill the roles, taking them away from other duties.
“We use volunteers on our buses, they go out with the driver and help people with their handbags and walking sticks and chat to them as the bus goes around,” Ms Yeates said.
“We also have volunteers who work in our program and just act as hosts and hostesses throughout the day.”
With people in all stages of their dementia diagnosis, Ms Yeates said volunteers help bring the social side of the program by talking with clients, playing games, getting involved in activities and being a friendly face.
The need at the moment is for the bus service, where no prior training is required but the ability to help others get on and off the bus, carry items and to strike up conversation is essential.
“Volunteers just have to have a love of people. We’ll train them and everything else but if people have a genuine regard for older people and a desire to help, a lot of our volunteers say they get just as much back as they give.”
Caladenia started in 1983 in the living room of the founder Trish Maggs’ home.
After many years of fighting for the people she had been caring for to find a space to offer a broader service, in 1991 staff, volunteers and clients moved into Meadowbank House located at 11 Hilledge Lane Mooroolbark.
As much as Ms Maggs’ vision was to support people living with dementia, Ms Yeates said it was also about offering respite to carers and without the volunteers, that would not be possible.
“It is often 24 hours a day, seven days a week and if a person with dementia is moderate to advanced, some of the things they’re dealing with at home can be quite exhausting and challenging.
“So providing them that break where their loved one comes to us two or three times a week and they get a break to do what they need to do is vitally important.
“Research says that carers who do feel supported and do get that break, it’s much less likely that their person is going to go into care prematurely. So we’re helping to keep people in the community out of care and carers feel supported.”
