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Twilight Providing Jamieson House to Women’s Shelter
Twilight Aged Care is participating in a local initiative to temporarily repurpose Jamieson House Twilight as a home for displaced women over 55.
The Beecroft House: Housing Partnership Project will provide financial and residential support to the homeless, and give 20 women housing accommodation for the next 2 years. The project will convert Jamieson into a safe and welcoming space and give the building a new name, ‘Beecroft House’. The initiative aims to enhance the lives of these women and give them independence through housing pathways and support services.
The Beecroft House: Housing Partnership Project is the collaboration of the Hornsby council and over 6 organisations in North Sydney area, including the Women’s Shelter, Twilight Aged Care and Link Housing. The majority of these companies, including Twilight, are offering services to the Women’s Shelter project free of charge, including the lease for the building itself.
Twilight Aged Care contacted the Hornsby Ku Ring-Gai Women’s Shelter and offered two year access to the building rent free. Neil Wendt, the CEO of Twilight, said
“Twilight was founded 100 years ago to support women that required assistance. This wonderful initiative goes to the roots of the company’s values”.
This spirit of charity is shared by organisations like The Generous and the Grateful, who have donated the furniture for the building. The organisation works alongside 5 star hotels undergoing refurbishment, and saved any ‘outdated’ furniture for the women’s shelter. The National Projects and Maintenance group, are also providing their services and 40 workers to renovate Beecroft House for free.
Maraget Maljkovic, Chief Operating Officer at Link Housing, spoke about the great need for affordable housing at Beecroft House‘s community information afternoon. Maljkovic said the housing partnership is especially important for older women in the Sydney area where living prices are high. In this way, Beecroft House will provide opportunities for women to get back on their feet in times of financial or personal crisis.
The project aims to work closely with local people and businesses. The Women’s Community Shelter has set up a Facebook page for people to see the construction progress. The page offers opportunities for the community to help out the home with activities such as gardening, painting and cleaning.
Beecroft House is hosting an Open Day on Friday 9th August with free tours of the home, to mark the beginning of the project for interested members of the community. For more information, click here.
Re-uniting the community in intergenerational project
A six month local research project started in Glades Bay Gardens last Thursday. It aimed to connect the wisest and youngest generations of North Sydney.
The program involved The Children’s House of Montessori in East Ryde and residents of Twilight Aged Care. The initiative was designed to bridge the social gap between the old and young.
Intergenerational programs bring diverse groups together and unite communities by building relationships and sharing knowledge. This specific project focuses on the benefits of an Intergenerational program using Montessori principles within an aged care setting. It pairs up seniors and children for creative activities to open conversation and learn new skills together.
Denise Underwood, the principal of The Children’s House of Montessori, said that the program gives the children experience outside of an excursion format and allows them to genuinely interact with the community.
A report from Generations United described the far-reaching benefits of these programs in their studies in America. Their research showed how engagement of the children and seniors benefits communities as a whole.
Intergenerational Programs are able to unite diverse groups of people and build social understanding. They provide role models and positive interactions while breaking down negative, generational stereotypes.
The children visiting delighted everyone living at Twilight. They loved the energy that they brought to the day. Dorothy, a resident at Glades Bay Gardens, said that the children were “absolutely wonderful”.
Interacting with children encourages those older to be more active and cognitively alert; improving heart rate and mental health.
Julianne Walker, the volunteer and project coordinator behind the enterprise, was excited about the project. She said that the program has just began, but response from the children and those at Twilight are overwhelmingly positive. The program has 1-2 hours of group interaction per week with a different theme, until its conclusion in mid-September. She looks forward to seeing how the program and relationships will evolve in the coming months.
Twilight and Resident, 99 and Not Out!
Congratulations to Mr Max Woods who celebrates his 99th birthday this week. Max lives at Glengarry and shares his 99th birthday with Twilight Aged Care which is also 99 this year. We are delighted to see Max featured in the Inverell Times with his beautiful grandchildren. Max is a much loved resident of Glengarry and many enjoy visits from daughter Susan and Izzy (his dog!).
Resident Profile: Joyce Attenborough
Joyce has been a wonderful addition to Jamieson House; her intelligence reflected in her adept knowledge of words and numbers that were developed over an illustrious life. Read More
Special Celebrations at Horton House
Happy Birthday to Mui Popo and Vlasta Novak. Read More
My Life and a Refugee Fleeing Burma
This is Daniel’s story of fleeing Burma, life in a refugee camp on the Thai/Burma border and starting a new life in Australia, working for Twilight Aged Care. We have several Karen staff members, all working hard to create a positive new life for themselves and their families. This is just one story …
In February 1997, my family and I fled the civil war in Burma between the Burmese military Government and the Karen Liberation Movement. Since we were supporters of the Karen, we had no choice but to leave our homeland and seek asylum in a Thai refugee camp. At that time my family consisted of six members, parents, my two younger brothers, my younger sister and myself. I am the oldest son and was about 11 years old when we fled the fighting. We then found ourselves living in one of the most restricted camps along the Thai/ Burma border where we lived for eleven years in horrible conditions.
Although we had very limited resources I was able to continue my education with assistance from NGOs. Living conditions in the camp were severely crowded, squalid and filthy. Consequently diseases such as malaria, diarrhoea, dysentery, typhoid, measles, chicken pox, meningitis etc. were rife.
Tragically, my father succumbed to an unknown disease and passed away in 2006. Two years later, in 2008, we were eventually processed for third country resettlement and were admitted to Australia.
I began an Intensive English Course at Bankstown Senior College and finished my year 12 in 2010. I then continued with further studies at Liverpool TAFE and finished my diploma in Human Resources Service.
I joined Twilight Aged Care in May 2012 – my first job as a permanent employee. This has been a good experience for me as I am able to meet people from different countries, all of us with a common goal of doing a good job for the Twilight Aged Care residents.
Coming to Australia, especially with a refugee background is very hard, particularly in terms of work, as you are required to provide evidence of local work experiences. Having no previous job experiences or references makes it difficult to create a good impression with possible employers. I appreciate Twilight Aged Care for the opportunity they have given me and for showing confidence in me.
I have decided to go back to school to continue my studies as I believe that in Australia, the higher your qualifications the greater the opportunities for advancement. I am also involved in volunteering work, assisting in the community, coaching a community youth soccer team. I am very thankful to the Australian government for resettlement in Australia so that we can have freedom and a better quality of life.
HOW ARE YOU GOING TO COPE WHEN YOU NEED AGED CARE?
If you missed this article in the Sydney Morning Herald, it’s worth reading. As our radio advertising on 2UE says, when you need aged care, you need it quickly. When the time comes, will you know where to go, what to do and how to do it? Luckily, at Twilight Aged Care, we know our business and we are always here to help.