Peter: Knock, knock.
Jack: Who's there?
Peter: Volunteer.
Jack: Volunteer who?
Peter: Volunteer to help me finish this joke.
Jack: That's pathetic.
Narrator: Peter is an Aged Care Volunteer Visitor.
Peter: How are you, Jack?
Jack: Fancy meeting you.
Narrator: Each week he meets Jack at his home in Adelaide. Today they are discussing what their friendship means to them.
Peter: What did you think of me when you first met me?
Jack: I thought he's a big chap. You tower over me, of course. But I came to think of Peter as a very nice chap, well worth knowing and well worth having conversations with.
Peter: When I came to see you, you mentioned that you'd started recording some of your stories and I
thought that was interesting. So I asked you, would you like some help? And the thing that fascinated me was the fact that you never wrote anything down. You had in your mind already written it. I mean, it's absolutely extraordinary.
Narrator: With Peter's help Jack has been using a Dictaphone to record his life story.
Jack: So far I've found this a very useful gadget, because I'm able to put down things which come to mind at any odd time to include in the autobiography. I have done it with Peter's help, a great deal of help. Hopefully it'll have a happy ending.
Peter: will have a happy ending. I'm sure it will.
Narrator: Isolation and loneliness are growing concerns among Australia's older generation. A regular visitor and friend can vastly improve the wellbeing of elderly recipients.
Jack: What was it that finally made you say, "That's it. This year, I volunteer."
Peter: What really was the trigger for me was the fact that there were no men visiting other men. There are a lot of men my age who are retired. I don't have a big social circle and I thought this was a good way for me to broaden my social connection and feel as if I'm part of a community.
Jack: I hate to say this in his presence, but Peter to me, is a godsend. Without his being here I would find it much more difficult to get on and I really look forward to his coming each week.
I would tell anybody who is capable of doing volunteering to please take it up, because there are many, many people such as myself who would just about die to have a volunteer call on them.
His being sent here as a volunteer has developed into quite a deep friendship, and I value him and
whatever he brings here, very much indeed.
Narrator: We're looking for aged care volunteer visitors in your area. Go online and sign up today.
Peter volunteers to visit with Jack every week at his home. They open up about how Peter is helping Jack share his life story and the importance of their friendship to both of them.