Joe finds joy at Bankstown Terrace!

When Joe first moved to Bankstown Terrace Care Community from the Sutherland Hospital, he had been living alone grieving for his wife after she had passed away. He felt he had been sent to our care community without knowing where he was going while losing his independence and his home.

Joe was confused, distressed and struggled to adjust to his new living situation, often refraining from interacting or having conversations with our team and residents. Our dedicated leadership and lifestyle team focused on Joe's life history to understand him deeply, hoping to give Joe purpose and meaning again in his new home.

With some digging, our team discovered that Joe, among his many occupations ran a café and store in Bankstown. Customers would venture from all over Sydney including Leichhardt (the coffee capital) to his store for coffee. Joe was encouraged to use our café’s machine and make coffees for residents, families and team. He thoroughly enjoys making a beautiful coffee and having happy and appreciative customers brings purpose to his day.

Joe also loves gardening and owned a fruit and veg shop for a decade. A large project was created to give Joe access to gardening tools. He also goes on frequent trips to Flower Power and Bunnings with Mitch, our Maintenance Officer, to help him select the right seedlings and organic fertilizer for each type of vegetable and flower.

Joe is now independently working on the garden beds in Flinders Memory Care Neighbourhood and on the garden of the main café, watering them daily and caring for them full time. He brings his Meaningful Mate Indu and the team fresh tomatoes and chillies when they are ripe for use to our resident cooking groups and in Indu’s home cooked curries.

A barista apron with Joe's name is on its way as well as a Bunnings card for $250 for Joe to invest in his garden projects.

In addition to his barista work and love for gardening, Joe was once a dance teacher. He has taught a number of team members and residents how to ballroom dance. In fact, his dance instructions are in high demand with our care team!

Our Meaningful Mates Program has played a major role in Joe’s transformation. Through his interactions with Indu and Mitch, Joe has established much needed male connections.

With the implementation of these individualised activities and with good nutrition, Joe’s cognition and wellbeing has exponentially improved and he now has purpose, joy and meaning back in his life!