I dropped into Opal Annandale on Friday to visit the residents who had taken part in STEP and let them know we were underway in our planning for next year’s program visits, to find that the newly appointed Aged Care Commissioner former Federal Court of Australia judge Hon Gaetano (Tony) Pagone, had just been in for a visit to further his understanding of Aged Care in situ. I was delighted to see in the entrance, the story of the heartwarming connections of the Seniors and Teens Empathy Program (STEP)  to greet him.

“As a nation, Australia has drifted into an ageist mindset that undervalues older people and limits their possibilities. Sadly, this failure to properly value and engage with older people as equal partners in our future has extended to our apparent indifference towards aged care services. Left out of sight and out of mind, these important services are floundering. They are fragmented, unsupported and underfunded. With some admirable exceptions, they are poorly managed. All too often, they are unsafe and seemingly uncaring.

This must change.

Australia prides itself on being a clever, innovative and caring country. Why, then, has the Royal Commission found these qualities so signally lacking in our aged care system?

We have uncovered an aged care system that is characterised by an absence of innovation and by rigid conformity.” (Excerpt from Royal Commission into Aged Care Health and Safety Interim Report)

It is heartening to know that Tony Pagone, with so many years of experience and such a strong interest in social justice, was wanting to see for himself what things are like on the ground in Aged Care. And it was equally heartening to know, that amongst needing to hear the heartbreaking cases of abuse and neglect during the Aged Commission hearings, he could also get to see that there there are also many dedicated people working in Aged Care and in our community full of compassion, care and conviction for the best possible life for the Elders of our society.

Read more here about the 2019 intergenerational partnership program with Opal Annandale, International Grammar School and Heart and Soul Story and here to read more about STEP in the community.