On 22 August, CLAIR staff visited Anglicare Longueville Centre to study more about day care services for Japanese residents in Sydney aged 65 or older.
This service is offered by Japanese volunteers every month and around 10 people utilise the service each time. People enjoyed reciting Japanese essays and poems, singing Japanese folk songs and dancing. Anglicare Longueville Centre rents a space for aged care service to a range of ethnic communities, funded by a grant from the Australian government.
Like Japan, Australia is faced with a number of challenges with regards to dementia, home care, and nursing home shortages. On top of this, some non-English-speaking residents in nursing homes tend to feel distant from others and feel stressed due to the lack of opportunities to speak in their native languages and eat ethnic food.
We learnt that day care service for ethic groups is particularly crucial for elderly people to enjoy healthy lives without nursing-care and how important volunteers are. It was a great opportunity to think more about how to deal with the increase in non-Japanese elderly residents in Japan and the challenges they face.
