The Benevolent Society offers a wide range of community care services to older people in their own homes in the Sydney metropolitan area.
Older people who become frail or have deteriorating health can have difficulty managing housework, personal care and other daily activities. They may also become isolated and lonely. The Society's services help older people stay living at home comfortably and independently for as long as possible, adapting its services as people’s care needs change over time.
Community care
The Society runs community care services in the northern, southern and eastern suburbs of Sydney, in parts of the inner west and in the Penrith, Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury areas.
The services vary from area to area, but may include:
- personal care, such as help with having a shower or getting dressed
- housekeeping, cleaning, laundry
- managing medications
- nursing care
- preparing meals, meals on wheels, luncheon clubs
- shopping, paying bills
- transport to the doctor or shops
- gardening, home maintenance
- purchase or loan of equipment
- social activities and outings
- practical help and support for people who are caring for an older person at home (see Carers).
Organising care
Some older people’s needs can become quite complex. Several of our services specialise in helping people with complex needs find and organise the particular combination of services that will be right for them and that fits in with what they want. We then provide a single contact point for the person to ring if problems occur and we keep in touch to help if their needs change.
Information services
The Benevolent Society runs the Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centre that serves southern and eastern Sydney. The Centre provides free information – over the phone and in person – about all the different services available to support older people at home, as well as information about costs, assessment procedures and eligibility criteria.
Non-English speaking older people
All our services are open to people from non-English speaking backgrounds. Interpreters can be organised and we try to use bilingual staff, as appropriate. Our services in the northern beaches of Sydney, Canterbury and Nepean areas specialise in using bilingual careworkers. The Society is working in a number of ways to extend the reach of its services in culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
Aboriginal older people
The Society is working to make its services more culturally appropriate for older Aboriginal people and employs several aboriginal workers. The Society aims to increase the services it provides to Aboriginal older people, in line with their presence in the local population.
Keeping older people out of hospital
Older people can sometimes end up in hospital with a health crisis which could have been avoided if they had had better health care and support at home beforehand. The Benevolent Society is taking part in an innovative project in the St George area of Sydney that helps frail older people aged 65 and over who have multiple health problems to avoid ending up in hospital unnecessarily. Read about the Healthy at Home project.
Services in your area
See Find a service for a details of the services we provide to older people in your area. If The Benevolent Society cannot provide the particular service you need, where possible we will refer you to another organisation that can.
Alternatively ring Carelink on 1800 052 222 and ask for information about the full range of community services for older people in your area.
Interested in helping?
“The people who deliver the meals make my day. They seem to really enjoy doing the meals with a smile and always help pass the time of day by having a chat and not rushing out of the door.”
Volunteers are an essential part of many of our community services. For example, volunteers make regular social visits to older people, deliver meals to older people’s homes, help with outings, social and recreational activities. More information.