What is it?

The Community Visitors Scheme is an Australian government funded program established to promote links between people living in an aged care home and the wider community.

Lutheran Community Care is funded to recruit, train and support volunteers to visit residents in residential care aged facilities in the Adelaide Hills, the Barossa, Balaklava, the Western and North Eastern suburbs, Metropolitan area, Mallala, Murray Bridge, Strathalbyn, Victor Harbor and Yankalilla.

Who do Community Visitors visit?

Volunteers visit the elderly in aged care facilities.

Referrals are received for people who do not have family or friends visiting, have limited contact with family and friends, or are socially isolated in the facilities.

Residents may be frail or not be as mobile as they once were. Some residents may be confined to their bed. Others may have cognitive impairment or more limited communication skills.

All enjoy and look forward to the contact with a person interested in them.

How does it work?

Visitors call on a designated resident at least once a fortnight for up to an hour in an aged care facility. Usually the time is spent chatting, discussing local news, reminiscing, reading or even working on a hobby or activity together.

Who can be a Community Visitor?

Community Visitor volunteers can be:

• people over the age of 18
• people over the age of 85 are welcomed as volunteers but they can not be covered by full volunteer insurance
• live reasonably close to one of the designated facilities
• have transport to get to the facility
• able to chat and relate to older people
• have the time to visit one resident in a residential aged care home every fortnight for about an hour on a consistent basis
• willing to undergo an application and orientation process
• willing to obtain a national Police Certificate and Statutory Declaration (if applicable) and meet the requirements regarding convictions
• willing to attend any required training
• willing to make a 12 month commitment to visit.

What are the Benefits for the Community Visitors?

The benefits are:

• friendship with an older person
• the appreciation from the person visited
• the appreciation from the facility
• opportunity to give something back to the community
• opportunity to serve the local community
• the flexibility and ease of visiting arrangements
• closeness of the facility to the visitor
• knowing that one hour of contact means so much to the person and to the visitor
• opportunities to meet others who are also visiting
• getting feedback from other visitors.

 How does the scheme support Community Visitors?

The scheme:

• provides support activities for visitors
• arranges the matching of a visitor and resident
• maintains contact with the facilities
• has a bi monthly newsletter
• reimburses visitor travel expenses
• provides volunteer insurance. 

Where are the locations for visiting?

For a list of facilities that Lutheran Community Care covers click here.

For further information please contact:

Adelaide and Adelaide Hills
Di Schneider Tel: 08 8331 3111
Monday - Wednesday 

Barossa Valley
Annie Chambers
Tel: 08 8562 2688 
Wednesday