Page 10 - Senior Scene Queensland 2020

PAGE 10 www.seniorsbook.com.au
Northsiders through

COVID-19, and beyond!

here is no doubt that 2020 job keeping older residents safe
has been an extraordinary and healthy, and they definitely
Tyear so far. When the COVID- deserved a quick break! Local
19 pandemic swept across the community groups and churches
globe, unprecedented restrictions have also continued to help the
were placed on the way we most vulnerable members of our
function and connect. Within the community. Meals on Wheels
space of a few press conferences, in Sandgate, Geebung, Nudgee
we had to abandon the comfort and Chermside have continued
of our daily rituals, stay inside to deliver high-quality meals to
and socially distance ourselves Northside homes. A big shout
for the sake of public health and out goes to Bridgeman Baptist
the greater good. As the Federal Community Church who donated
Member for Lilley and a patriotic 70 pre-made meals to the Zillmere
Northsider, I could not be prouder Community Centre over the Easter
of how our community rose to long weekend. Their generosity
these challenges with altruistic went a long way to help those who
hospitality and deep community are struggling to get by.
spirit. We know that when a Of course, navigating COVID-19
Northsider is doing it tough, there has not been without challenges.
will always be a flurry of hands Information, guidance and advice
ready to help. have shifted regularly, sometimes
From the outset of COVID-19, daily. The rapidly changing
my primary focus has been to landscape of social distancing rules
protect the health and wellbeing left many confused. Since April
of Northsiders; especially older 2020, my office has called 5000
residents who are particularly at Northsiders, including 2,500 people
risk if exposed. Thank you to the over the age of 85 and veterans, to
local workers who have gone check-in and see how they were
above and beyond to keep us safe. adapting to social distancing rules. Seeing how we have come with strong economic growth.
Our health and aged care workers, It was so heart-warming to hear together to take care of our Today’s older Australians are the
cleaners, teachers, public transport stories of visits with grandkids neighbours from a social distance generation that rebuilt our country
workers, truck drivers, shop facilitated through the safety of the has affirmed how lucky we are to and shaped our society. Older
assistants, police and emergency front door fly screen, or neighbours live on the Northside. It is because Australians have shown aspiration
service workers have risked their dropping off groceries to doorsteps of the collective effort of our not just for yourselves, but for a
own health to look after others. of those who couldn’t travel to the community that restrictions are better life for your children. I share

To show my thanks, in March I shops. Jean from Kedron told me gradually being lifted. As we start with you a commitment to be a
shouted 70 aged care workers at about a café across the road from to see the light at the end of the good parent and a good ancestor.
Wesley Mission Queensland in her house that left food and coffee tunnel and look to the future, I turn The future is not just a vision
Chermside a coffee from a local on her doorstep every morning to the lived experience of older of something imprecisely better
small business. Our aged care because she couldn’t leave her Northsiders. After WWII, Australia than the present. Like the
workers are doing a fantastic home. emerged as a prosperous nation present, it too will be made of an
unaccountable number of complex
and interlocking details, and likely
more global pandemics. Now is the
time to prioritise the making of a
better world for future generations.
Our children and grandchildren
deserve better than an economy
that consigns them to a lifetime
of low wages, job insecurity and
unaffordable housing. If young
people have to bear the brunt of
the COVID-19 economic recovery,
many will be forced to put off
moving out of home or have to
return to live with their parents, put
off marriage and having their own
families.
It is up to us to prepare for the
future, to take action, and to set the
course for future generations, now.
We can’t leave this work undone,
for our children, grandchildren and
great-grandchildren to pick up and
fix.
This present time in history is the
cornerstone the future is built on.
Now is when we craft the world
we want for our descendants, after
COVID-19 and beyond.