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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-05-14 Daily Xml
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CIRCLE OF FRIENDS

Mrs GERAGHTY (Torrens) (14:34): Can the Minister for Ageing advise the house of the latest government initiatives to help older people remain connected to their communities?

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE (Wright—Minister for Families and Communities, Minister for Northern Suburbs, Minister for Housing, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Disability) (14:34): I thank the member for Torrens for her question. The Rann government has a proud record when it comes to supporting older people in our community. I have previously had the pleasure of informing the house about grants for seniors and the Positive Ageing Development Grants which are distributed by the Office for Ageing. Recently, from the Premier, we have also had the exciting public transport announcements about free travel for our seniors.

This afternoon, I will have the pleasure of hosting a group of wonderful older South Australians from the Circle of Friends group, a Masonic Homes project funded by the state government. Circle of Friends began in February 2008 to reconnect isolated older people into their communities. The state government provided $100,000 for the pilot project and has since provided an additional $60,000. This afternoon I will tell the group that the state will provide a further $50,000 in one-off funding.

One of the very strong messages from the heatwave earlier this year is that the public wants to live in a more neighbourly community. Through the great work of the Red Cross and other organisations, we heard amazing stories about community togetherness, but also some tragic tales of disconnected seniors who need more support.

I believe that Circle of Friends is a fine example of a program that keeps seniors connected and, therefore, safe in their communities. I would like to briefly share a couple of the stories about Circle of Friends members. One lady, a former Red Cross war nurse in Britain, was housebound because of a fear of fainting before joining Circle of Friends. She is now an important part of the group and will soon be working with a PhD student from Flinders University on her life experiences.

Another lady was widowed a year ago and was left grieving and distressed. Through her involvement she has now worked with a volunteer to develop a comic book so that she can share her life story in a fun and different way with the younger generation. An elderly gentleman, who lives alone and was injured in a fall, whilst recuperating learned tai chi. He is now teaching tai chi to Asian student nurses.

Finally, I would like to mention Gladys Fennell, who cannot make this afternoon's event but will soon host a kitchen tea for her new friends. I would like to pay tribute to a 94 year old member of Circle of Friends, Mrs Kathleen Jarrad, who recently passed away. I will finish with a sentence provided to me today by the Circle of Friends people. They said, 'Kathleen's passing is a reminder that each day, with older people, is so very precious.'

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