Uniting AgeWell

08/01/2026

Staying safe and well

During this period of extreme weather and catastrophic fire conditions Uniting AgeWell is working closely with customers across Victoria to ensure they are supported. We are also working closely with other agencies in the impacted areas to ensure everyone's safety.

We encourage our customers to reach out if your condition or environment changes - we are here if you need us. You can call us on 1300 783 435.

If you have not already, please download the VicEmergency App to your mobile device and monitor your local area for changes.

Follow this link for relief centre locations and other helpful information:
https://emergency.vic.gov.au/relief/

08/01/2026

Doctor's tick of approval

Dr Andris Darzins has enjoyed an amazing career as a General Practitioner culminating in being awarded an OAM for services to medicine. His 2007 citation was for services to migrant health, paediatrics and care of the elderly.

Now it’s the 90-year-old’s chance to get special care as a resident of Uniting AgeWell Latvian Community in Wantirna South.

The great-grandfather enjoys spending his days reading, watching television and loves attending the concerts at the site, as well as the cultural theme days and of course Happy Hour.

“I’m quite happy and content. What’s not to enjoy? I’m alive and breathing aren’t I?” he laughs, his ready jokes coupled with the trademark twinkle in his eye. “I’m just a bit slower now that I am getting older, but the care I get from the staff is amazing. They are all so kind.”

Read how Andris arrived in Australia as a Latvian refugee determined to make a success of his life: https://www.unitingagewell.org/news/doctors-tick-of-approval/

03/01/2026

Many great thinkers, Buddha, Barack Obama, even have sung praises to the benefits of solitude. Jacinta Parsons, host of the Ageing Ideal asks, "So why can it be so scary to be alone with yourself?"

Author and columnist Kerry Sackville, wrote a book about loneliness and solitude called The Secret Life of you and has spent years analyzing our attitude towards solitude in later life.

In this episode of The Ageing Ideal called "Table for one" we get to know more about the concept of loneliness versus solitude and discover how to prepare for being alone and support others who are.

Jacinta talks to Kerri about how we can learn to enjoy and even cherish our own company as we age.

Listen to Episode 2 on your favourite podcast app or at unitingagewell.org/podcast

You can also be notified of new episodes by following The Ageing Ideal on your favourite podcast app.

31/12/2025

Seeking a new purpose for your New Year's resolution?

Here's to new opportunities in 2026! We can help - there's so many ways you can make a difference when you volunteer with Uniting AgeWell.

Perhaps it is chatting with an older person in the community, or walking a dog, or helping in a garden.... or knitting!

It’s never too late to volunteer. Just ask Greta Mahoney who is an absolute purl when it comes to knitting for good causes. The staff at the Launceston RSPCA appreciate the blankets she knits to keep dogs at their shelter snug and cosy. The dogs do too!

The 91-year-old who lives at Uniting AgeWell Latrobe Community Strathdevon is part of the knitting group at the site and also makes beanies and scarves for her vast family and for charities.
She also loves knitting in the sunshine in the pretty garden off her suite.

“I’ve knitted all my life since I was a girl,” explains Greta. “Now that I’m here, I have more time to knit as I don’t have to worry about housework, cooking meals or anything like that!”

Volunteering enriches lives: not just those you help, but your own.

There are plenty of volunteering opportunities here at Uniting AgeWell - from spending time chatting to older people in the community to assisting with activities in our residential homes, helping in the gardens and more. Find out more about volunteering here

Volunteers make a meaningful difference at Uniting AgeWell, playing an integral role in supporting the wellbeing of our customers and enhancing the services we provide.

31/12/2025

When the pace of life slows and the noise of ambition quells, we begin to notice the difference between loneliness and solitude.

Loneliness is the ache of absence—the empty chair, the silence when we long for familiar voices.

Solitude, on the other hand, is the comfort of our own company—the gentle pause after a busy life, where memories breathe and small joys shine.

In this episode of The Ageing Ideal, we get to know more about the concept of loneliness versus solitude and discover how to prepare for being alone and support others who are.

Listen to Episode 2 on your favourite podcast app or at unitingagewell.org/podcast

You can also be notified of new episodes by following The Ageing Ideal on your favourite podcast app.

30/12/2025

It's time to say farewell to a busy, happy year 2025 and welcome in 2026.

Uniting AgeWell can look back on 12 months of unprecedented growth and change underpinned by one constant: our unwavering dedication in putting our customers first and foremost in all that we do.

We invite you to share our journey and look back on 2025 in our Year in Review: https://www.unitingagewell.org/publications/2025-year-in-review/

29/12/2025

You get horse-whisperers who connect with horses.

Then you get therapy horses who work their special magic on people. Like this therapy horse Nigel who turned out to be the mane star of the day when he and his brother recently visited residents at Uniting AgeWell Manor Lakes Community.

Residents and their families had the opportunity to pat and feed the horses as well as to pose alongside them and say "jock-eeeys" for the camera.

Afterwards everyone shared memories of their past experiences of horses.

Find out more about joining the Wyndham Vale-based site at https://www.unitingagewell.org/location/manor-lakes-community/

25/12/2025

Now that was fun!

There's festive - and then there's the Christmas party at Uniting AgeWell's Kingsville Community which was such a success that everyone is still talking about it, even on Boxing Day today!

Up to 100 residents, family members, friends and staff took to the dance floor while listening to an entertainer belt out festive favourites. They also enjoyed a smorgasbord of delicious nibbles and bubbly.

New resident Victor dressed up as Santa for the occasion and between pretty impressive "ho-ho's" squeezed in a have a dance with his wife Margaret. Presents were handed out - even Ursula's dog Precious received a gift - a packet of Santa Paws-approved dog biscuits made by Lifestyle Assistant Lauren Coulson.

25/12/2025

Uniting AgeWell residents were treated to a stirringly-beautiful pop-up carol performance by the acclaimed Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (TSO) Chorus at Newnham Community, Aldersgate Village in the lead-up to Christmas.

Residents sang along to the 40-minute acapella performance and gave a thunderous applause to the members of the chorus who joined in for morning tea of scones, jam and cream.

The pop-up performance is part of the organisation’s long-standing partnership between the TSO and Uniting AgeWell, ensuring music continues to be a part of residents’ lives.

Read the full story here: https://www.unitingagewell.org/news/pop-up-christmas-carols-spread-festive-cheer/

24/12/2025

Child of Wonder

From Rev Clare Brockett, Uniting AgeWell Director of Mission

Have you ever been speechless? Overwhelmed with joy and awe as you have met a new baby; anticipated, small, complete, helpless, innocent, joining generations of ancestors and family yet to be born.

At Christmas in the Christian tradition, we celebrate the story of the birth of Jesus.
Love is born, light will shine in the darkness, and hope comes to life.

This Christmas in Australia we will also know what it is to be speechless because of the recent attacks on the Jewish community: The very opposite of joyous wonder for children and families. We know in reality, awe can be fleeting and interrupted by the chaos of our times and family complexities.

Let us do our best to create loving, open-hearted communities for all children this Christmas, knowing holding each other with tender love is good for us all.

Read Clare's full message https://www.unitingagewell.org/news/hope-trust-and-love-christmas-2025/

24/12/2025

Associate Professor, Anita Goh is a clinical neuropsychologist and leading researcher on aging cognition and mental health at the National Aging Research Institute.

She's dedicated her work to understanding the emotional and social experiences of older people, including how loneliness and connection shape wellbeing in later life.

In this episode of The Ageing Ideal called "Table for one," host Jacinta Parsons talks to Anita about the difference between loneliness and solitude, about how to recognise them in your experience and how to reach out for support.

Listen to Episode 2 on your favourite podcast app or at unitingagewell.org/podcast

You can also be notified of new episodes by following The Ageing Ideal on your favourite podcast app.

23/12/2025

Can you relate to the saying "Don't wrap me in cotton wool"?

As we age, risk-taking becomes a conscious consideration. While caution often increases and those around us may encourage it, older adults still have the right to take risks.

Yet ignoring the challenges of ageing can have serious consequences. Finding the right balance is crucial, but it raises the question of who ultimately decides.

In the first episode of The Ageing Ideal, Don't wrap me in cotton wool, our host Jacinta Parsons explores the dignity of risk with gerontologist Professor Joseph Ibrahim and COTA CEO Pat Sparrow.

We also chat with elders about their approach to risk, autonomy and decision-making and why wrapping people in cotton wool is not the answer.

Listen to Episode 1 on your favourite podcast app or visit the Uniting AgeWell website: https://www.unitingagewell.org/podcast/

You can also be notified of new episodes by following The Ageing Ideal on your favourite podcast app.