Left to right: Jacquelin (Team Leader) with Georgina (Regional Manager).
Helping aged care volunteers manage grief and loss
Jacquelin is a Team Leader at Wesley Mission who helps manage the Aged Care Volunteer Visitors Scheme (ACVVS) within the organisation.
Being an ACVVS volunteer can take an emotional toll when dealing with grief and loss. Jacquelin shares some of Wesley Mission’s tactics in helping ACVVS volunteers feel supported when dealing with these emotions.
‘We send out a monthly newsletter to our volunteers where we provide them with information and resources they can easily access.
‘We also arrange training opportunities for our volunteers, with the "National Association for Loss and Grief" running an online grief and loss workshop for our volunteers. This had high attendance from our volunteers, and we also extended the invitation to other local ACVVS organisations and their volunteers. Due to its success, we will be running this twice yearly from here on.
‘We have also arranged for another external organisation (Anglicare) to run the ‘Suicide Prevention for Seniors’ program online for our volunteers next month.
‘The positive feedback we have received from our volunteers to date has informed us that this is what is needed. We are often told they appreciate the monthly newsletters which not only makes them feel part of a community, but provides useful and supportive information.’
Make a positive impact to older people in your community by finding aged care volunteering opportunities.