Alison and Mary stay connected

Volunteer, Alison, is staying connected with people living at Resthaven Craigmore, replacing her usual in person visits with twice weekly telephone calls instead.

Alison, who has volunteered at Resthaven Craigmore for almost four years, made the decision to not attend the home during the COVID-19 pandemic, to protect the health of residents.

However, this wasn’t going to stop her from staying in touch with resident, Mary, who looks forward to Alison’s visits immensely.

‘Mary is a lovely lady,’ says Alison, ‘We always chat for a least an hour.’

‘Because of her epilepsy, she does repeat herself a bit, but we always have a laugh about it.’

‘We always find things to talk about.’

When Alison began as a Resthaven volunteer, she requested to be able to provide individual companionship, and she ‘prefers one on one – you get to really connect.’

‘I wanted to visit somebody who didn’t receive many visitors, to brighten them up a bit.’

‘The fact that I’m just chatting for a couple of hours with Mary seems to make so much difference to her. She’s always saying that she looks forward to our conversations.’

‘I’m really happy that she’s happy.’

‘You need to have a heart for people, and you have to have respect for the person you’re speaking with.’

‘Just to sit and chat, even if it’s only small talk, can make so much difference.’

Mary and Alison are looking forward to seeing each other again in person at the end of the COVID-19 restrictions.

Resthaven’s high quality aged care services are supported by around 480 volunteers across South Australia.

This National Volunteer Week, and all throughout the year, we say ‘Thank you to volunteers’!