HIGHLANDERS have learned about community programs run by Red Cross volunteers at a fundraising morning tea.
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Australian Red Cross manager (central region) Judy Harper came along to the Big Cake Bake run by the Moss Vale-Berrima branch volunteers on October 19.
Ms Harper explained the Red Cross supplied more services than blood donation drives and international aid.
“The need is always greater than the people we can provide, so we always need volunteers locally,” she said.
The local services Ms Harper explained included:
Community visitors scheme –
This is where volunteers visit people living in nursing homes or alone. There are more than 40 volunteers providing this service in the Highlands.
Ms Harper said the service provided people with a meaningful chat to look forward to during the day.
“While it’s great for them to have paid people come to the house to do things like mow the lawn, it’s nice to know they have volunteers who visit them because they want to,” she said.
“It’s a simple thing to visit someone for a few hours, but you can’t underestimate how that impacts someone’s mental or physical health.”
TeleCross –
Red Cross volunteers support calls for 1200 people in the area.
Ms Harper said the service not only provided a friendly phone call, but also helped to save lives.
“We are able to contact emergency services when we cannot get in contact with someone,” she said.
“It’s more than a welfare check in the morning, some volunteers end up having really long chats.”
Young Parents Program –
This program supports young parents and their children with education, homelessness and parenting.
Ms Harper said it enabled the parents and their children to have a bright future.
“We heard last year from a mother – she is now 27, she came to us when she was 15 – who came to us when she was escaping family violence,” she said.
“She went through the program and is now married, has taken out a mortgage on a house, she finished a TAFE certificate and university course and is now working full-time.”
Leaner Driver Program –
A newer program to help young and older people gain their drivers licence.
Ms Harper said the barriers of having no licence and limited public transport were huge.
“It helps younger people gain employment, as 75 per cent of jobs advertised say you need a licence,” she said.
“We helped one 26-year-old who was on his learner’s, as he was orphaned and his grandmother wasn’t a licensed driver. Now he has gained employment and can drive to work.”
Emergency Services Work –
As well as setting up evacuation centres, Red Cross volunteers will visit places as an outreach and support service after a disaster event.
Ms Harper said volunteers focused on people’s psychological well-being after an event.
“People really appreciate knowing someone is still thinking of them, even if they are doing well,” she said.
“It’s about rebuilding and supporting a community as they recover.”
Become a volunteer for the Red Cross: www.redcross.org.au/volunteering.