A change in the house’s management turned it into a “horror show”. Sex workers started operating there,and a “crazy screamer” moved in. To scare Kenny into leaving,someone put rats in his shoes. Another threw a brick at him.
He refused to move without the cat. Kenny and Willow found a new home in a new type of non-profit aged care facility,HammondCare Darlinghurst. Housing 42 older people,it opened in 2020 to fill the gap in aged care for those who have been homeless,lived in overcrowded accommodation with insecure tenure,and those at high risk of homelessness.
It is not like most aged care facilities. Residential Manager Chantel Evans said,“We take people other aged care facilities don’t want.” And their cats. And knives. More on that later.
Each apartment operates like a family. There’s a kitchen where residents can cook,get tea,or request food they like. A small team of carers works exclusively with a household,sharing the cooking,cleaning and caring. “They don’t have family,so we become their family,” said Evans.
A separate floor caters to women,including Jani Suya Suganda who left a violent and abusive husband of 40 years. Suganda had hidden the abuse from others for decades. She now feels safe,she said.
This style of small household accommodation in aged care is the preferred model in new accommodation principles expected to be released by the federal government in July. Robert Day,an assistant secretary with the Federal Department of Health and Aged Care toldAustralian Ageing Agenda,a specialist publication,that the Commonwealth’s proposed guidelines would de-institutionalise residential aged care and make it a more homelike and intimate experience for residents.