News

Volunteers for the Aged Care Volunteer Visitors Scheme (ACVVS) now have a new resource to help them navigate the palliative care space and feel more confident in their interactions with the people they support.

The ACVVS supports volunteers to provide comfort and companionship to elders who are experiencing social isolation and especially seeks to engage with people from vulnerable groups. Volunteers visit people in their homes and in aged care facilities and regular visits help to improve quality of life and develop social connections.

Given how likely it is for ACVVS volunteers to encounter people living with a life-limiting illness, Mel Kerton and Donatella Amos from two Volunteer Resource Centres in South Australia identified a need to provide them with information about palliative care. Working in conjunction with Palliative Care South Australia they created a guide for ACVVS volunteers.

Knowing that volunteers from a broad range of community support roles such as customer service or community transport might also find themselves supporting someone with a life-limiting illness they are now busy adapting the guide into a generic document that any volunteer can pick up and use.

To access the guide please click here.