Continue
In a world of labour shortages, staff fatigue and burnout - we need to take care of ourselves and our colleagues. This need is particularly pressing for advocates and carers of older people (paid and unpaid), who struggle to find their work and the older people they work with are not valued. Continue is a collection of strategies to reduce burnout and fatigue and to help hang onto valued workers.
DIY Angels
The DIY Angels workshop is for aged care advocates, carers and other service providers to reflect on the value of the work they do. The strategy draws on the Everyday Angels project (see below), which invited community members to write postcards celebrating the achievements of aged care service providers. While these postcards bought service providers so much joy - what was most powerful was when service providers wrote themselves messages about the work they had done which was valuable.
The DIY Angels workshop was piloted with Elder Rights Advocacy and a sample of their messages about what they valued are shared below.
The DIY Angels workshop was piloted with Elder Rights Advocacy and a sample of their messages about what they valued are shared below.
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Stephanie Dowrick
Thankyou to Stephanie Dowrick, multi-award winning writer, psychotherapy researcher and coach, interfaith minister and publisher for her message to aged care advocates at Embolden2023. Thanks also to the Older Women's Network, NSW for facilitating this presentation.
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Everyday Angels
The Everyday Angels project (report) invited community members to write postcards celebrating the achievements of aged care service providers. We gathered over 300 postcards, faciliated workshops and set up EveryDay Angel's Walls in Aged Care Homes. See sample postcards below and report for full details, including how to host a project.
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Project inspiration
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"In August 2022 I received this image (left) in a text from my friend, Philippa Campbell. At the time Philippa was the CEO of Elder Rights Advocacy and was being treated for aggressive cancer. The message was particularly meaningful because our friendship was founded on our shared passion for older people and human kindness. When Philippa died in 2023, I wanted to share her message with others, particularly others advocating for respect for older people. The Continue project is dedicated to Philippa and my hope is it buoys your spirit as much as Philippa's message buoyed mine." Catherine Barrett |
Contact us
For more information contact us using the details at the bottom of the page.
