{"id":3639,"date":"2024-10-10T06:45:36","date_gmt":"2024-10-10T06:45:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.villages.com.au\/?p=3639"},"modified":"2024-10-10T06:47:38","modified_gmt":"2024-10-10T06:47:38","slug":"celebrate-the-unsung-heroes-national-carers-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.villages.com.au\/retirement\/celebrate-the-unsung-heroes-national-carers-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrate the unsung heroes: National Carers Week"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"3639\" class=\"elementor elementor-3639\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-b1f7d7e elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"b1f7d7e\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-4ae5903\" data-id=\"4ae5903\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4100225 elementor-drop-cap-yes elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4100225\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;drop_cap&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.15.0 - 20-08-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p>A<strong>bout three million Australians provide care to a family member or friend and there are events to recognise, celebrate and raise awareness of carers throughout Australia from 13 to 19 October.<\/strong><\/p><p>Like most carers, Aruna Perera, 68, doesn\u2019t have the time or inclination to put herself first. She\u2019s also dealing with the kind of grief that parents dread.<\/p><p>For-purpose aged and disability care organisation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theweeklysource.com.au\/government-policy\/vmch-gets-council-nod-for-new-village-that-will-will-push-the-envelope-for-retirement-living-in-kew-melbourne\">VMCH<\/a> is one of Victoria\u2019s largest state-funded carer support providers, supporting almost 3,000 unpaid carers.<\/p><p>Its 24-member Carer Services team focuses on the health and wellbeing of the carer and offers education and information, personal care, flexible respite and a multitude of special events.<\/p><p>Aruna connected with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au\/operators\/vmch-1884\">VMCH<\/a> when her daughter, Morina, began receiving palliative care in 2022. Morina was diagnosed with bowel cancer aged just 37, and endured almost 10 years of chemo, radiation and surgeries before finally succumbing to the disease last year, aged 46.<\/p><p>\u201cMorina was a very independent, strong and brave girl,\u201d Aruna says.<\/p><p>\u201cAs a family, we were there to give her all the support we could and help and understanding whenever she needed. It was so good to have VMCH help too. My daughter was finding it difficult to walk her dog, so they helped us find someone to do that, also to help with cleaning the house, and hospital transfers.\u201d<\/p><p>Aruna now cares for her husband Kuranage, 76, who struggles with rheumatoid arthritis and is recovering from a stroke. Aruna, who also has osteo arthritis, is reluctant to leave Kuranage\u2019s side.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-5950ec6 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"5950ec6\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-6846de3\" data-id=\"6846de3\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e69674c elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"e69674c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.15.0 - 20-08-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-image{text-align:center}.elementor-widget-image a{display:inline-block}.elementor-widget-image a img[src$=\".svg\"]{width:48px}.elementor-widget-image img{vertical-align:middle;display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Picture4-200x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-image-3642\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Picture4-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Picture4-682x1024.jpg 682w, https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Picture4-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Picture4-600x900.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Picture4-585x878.jpg 585w, https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Picture4.jpg 953w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-5ac2aab elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"5ac2aab\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-dbe4dab\" data-id=\"dbe4dab\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e3a99df elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e3a99df\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Kuranage, with his late daughter Morina, and his wife and carer Aruna.<\/p><p>VMCH Case Manager Ishita Bains links the couple with support through My Aged Care, including garden maintenance, so they can enjoy their outdoor space.<\/p><p>\u201cI\u2019m so thankful to Ishita \u2013 she has been so kind and has explained everything to us about the help we\u2019re eligible to receive. Our two sons and their families are very supportive, but they are also busy with their own commitments,\u201d said Aruna.<\/p><p>VMCH Carer Services Manager Fredricka Gonsalves says her team tries to provide meaningful experiences and supports for suit individuals to help combat common challenges including social isolation and burnout.<\/p><p>\u201cThe work carers do often goes unnoticed, but it is essential in maintaining their loved one\u2019s independence and connection to their community.\u201d<\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/carersweek.com.au\/\"><strong>National Carers Week<\/strong><\/a><strong> is an initiative of <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.carersaustralia.com.au\/\"><strong>Carers Australia<\/strong><\/a><strong>, funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services, and coordinated with the assistance and participation of the National Carer Network.<\/strong><\/p><p>If you would like to learn more about VMCH Carer Services, call 1300 698 624.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>About three million Australians provide care to a family member or friend and there are events to recognise, celebrate and raise awareness of carers throughout Australia from 13 to 19 October. Like most carers, Aruna Perera, 68, doesn\u2019t have the time or inclination to put&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3640,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-retirement"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3639"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3639\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3645,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3639\/revisions\/3645"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}