Caring for a loved-one is both challenging and rewarding and this week we recognise and celebrate the 2.65 million Australians who provide care and support for a family member or friend. This year’s theme, ‘Millions of Reasons to Care’ aims to broaden the community’s understanding of the role of a carer, highlighting why we need to ‘care about carers’. To help this cause, we spoke to one of our residents about the life-changing role his wife plays as both his partner and his carer.
IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH
Maxine Nuka is both wife and carer to her husband, David – a role that can be extremely challenging, but one she relishes as it means she gets to spend so much time with the man she loves. For David, her unwavering support has been his saviour, but he has always worried about the toll the extra responsibilities may take on his wife of 37 years.
“Maxine is my angel. We are inseparable… but she deserves her own time too. I want her to do less and enjoy her life more,” says David.
Since moving into their new SDA home in Accessible Homes Australia’s Hope Island project, this has been made possible.
“The 24-hour concierge service gives her that break – they help me dress, shower and shave. They take out rubbish, tidy around our apartment and even walk or mind our dogs.”
“Suddenly, Maxine has less to do and more time for herself. This makes me happy.”
THE COST OF CARING
The statistics paint a clear picture:
- In 2021, carers were 2.5 times more likely to experience lower well-being than other Australians
- One in five young carers are unable to engage in education
- Hours of unpaid care given across Australia equates to $77.9 billion annually
While it’s a complex issue that requires a multifaceted approach to help ease the strain on carers, accommodation models like the ‘clustered care’ one adopted by AHA with an onsite concierge, helps give carers the break they desperately need, and rightfully deserve.
FINDING FREEDOM
For people juggling the role of carer with spouse/sibling/friend/parent/child, finding a balance between the two is a huge challenge. When someone’s in need of ongoing care, being anything but their carer is next to impossible.
For David and Maxine, they found freedom in the form of specialised accommodation that gave them the ability to easily outsource some of the daily support.
“After months of moving around in short term care accommodation, AHA has given us a permanent home where we can live out our lives, stress free. It’s like winning the lottery,” says David. “Before moving into our new home, it was a very stressful time. We didn’t know what was in store for us and had no long-term solution. Meanwhile, Maxine was having to do everything for me.”
“With the help of AHA, our SDA application was approved and we were given an offer for an apartment at Hope Island – we’d finally found our forever home and with it came freedoms we’d never thought possible.”
“We love where we live and having the 24-hour concierge care service as part of the accommodation has given me total peace of mind, knowing that I have support for both myself and for Maxine who can spend less time as my carer, and more time as my wife.”
