St John Ambulance SA Ltd Annual Report 2024-25

Community Care

Annual Report 2024/25 volunteer-client relationship. The Community Care program has a wellness and reablement focus to allow for clients to retain independence and continue to live their lives in a way that is meaningful to them. Volunteers and clients both gain so much from our program. One such example is our volunteer Judy, who joined us in 2021 and currently supports four clients and takes on additional fill-in shifts when needed. During one of these shifts, she met a client, and they’ve since developed a lovely social connection. A beautiful example of this is the experience of one of our volunteers, Emma. She joined St John Community Care in 2023 while studying a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours), hoping to gain real world experience and give back to her community. She was soon matched with a client living with dementia in a residential facility. Our team of caring and dedicated volunteers are matched one-to-one with clients based on shared interests and goals to build an empowering

Through her patience and warmth, Emma helped her client feel seen and understood, building trust and connection where relationships had previously been difficult. As her client’s health changed, Emma sought ways to better support her, completing Mental Health First Aid training and maintaining close communication with staff to adapt her visits. When her client’s health declined to a point that their visits could no longer continue, Emma began visiting other residents, quickly becoming a familiar and welcome presence across the facility. Her visits spanned from bringing in her dog and pet bearded dragon for therapy visits, to joining weekly bus trips and helping ensure every outing ran smoothly and safely. Emma’s kindness and initiative have made her an integral part of the community – so much so that residents insist she keep visiting, even if she one day stops volunteering. Her impact led to her nomination by St John as Young Volunteer of the Year at the 2024 National Volunteer Week Awards.

North East South West 4 COMMUNITY CARE REGIONS IN METROPOLITAN ADELAIDE

SPECIALISED SERVICES PROGRAM (METRO-WIDE) - Treasured Stories Program

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