industry & policy
A marriage of
formal services
and informal
assistance
can provide
more support
for Australia’s
vulnerable
population
By Sandra Hills
T
Two hands lift higher
18 agedcareinsite.com.au
he holiday season is a time most of
us look forward to with anticipation.
Apart from overindulging in all
things bad, we also like to take time to
pursue activities for which we don’t usually
make space. And, of course, we have the
opportunity to spend time with family, with
all its low and high points.
We have a family friend whom I shall
call ‘Grace’, an older person with an
intellectual disability. Despite being loved
by many, Grace has no family. Over the
recent – now increasingly distant seeming
– Christmas break, I reflected on the
importance of having family, friends and
social connections, and in thinking about
Grace, wondered what happens if you
do not have these social supports? Who
steps in and whose responsibility is it, if
indeed anyone’s, to step in and provide
the support? Is it the responsibility of
the individual, state government, federal
government, the church, community
service providers, or all of the above?
In a civil society such as Australia’s,
our social policy platform is clear about
supporting the physical and psychological
wellbeing of those who do not have
the necessary family or other supports
available to them. But back to Grace. Even
though government funds a vast array
of services to people who require them,
there are some crucial areas where there
are significant gaps and if it were not for
the good hearts of unpaid individuals,
many people, including older people or
people with a disability, would track below
the radar, placing them at risk of various
forms of abuse, as well as minimising the
opportunities in their lives.
Take Grace as an example. She is
100 per cent reliant on a paid worker
from a government-funded leisure and
recreational program to advocate for her
in regards to health, accommodation
and relationship issues. This role is clearly
outside the scope of the employee but the
employee fulfils the role out of affection for
Grace and because, I suspect, she’s unsure
who else would fill the gap.