Day of Happiness

It seems somewhat incongruous to be celebrating the International Day of Happiness when so many people around the world are experiencing anything but happiness. The corona virus is still claiming lives and there is great inequity across the world in access to vaccines and treatment. There is also an unsettling disquiet about whose lives have …

Accessible Housing Benefits Everyone

Image by Anastasiia Chepinska - Unsplash “We all aspire to have our own homes, we all aspire to be independent, and we all aspire to live in a safe environment.” (David Blower, Endeavour Foundation) Today is the International Day of People with Disabilities, one of the most important days of the year for the disability …

Carers Week 2021 – Millions of Reasons to Care

“Carers are an essential part of our health system. They are the foundation of our aged, disability, palliative, and community care systems.” Every year 2.65 million Australian carers perform 2.2 billion hours of unpaid care. There are many reasons why a person may become a carer - disability, mental illness, chronic conditions, terminal illness and …

Hope in the Midst of Pain

 The New Year is just around the corner and I imagine there are many of us who cannot wait to see the end of 2020. The Corona Virus has delivered a major hit to our communities and our way of life during this year and our New Year celebrations will be no different. Large gatherings …

Living in the Christmas Spirit All the Year Round

I am sure I have always thought of Christmastime…as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they …

Living with Dignity

Today, December 3rd, is the International Day of People with Disability. It is an annual event designed to “increase public awareness, understanding and acceptance of people with disability and celebrate their achievements and contributions.” Each year there is a specific theme, and this year, quite appropriately, it is “Building Back Better: toward a disability-inclusive, accessible …

National Carers Week – Why Do We Care?

National Carers Week has been celebrated in Australia since 1992. It aims to recognise and celebrate the significant contribution that unpaid carers make to the Australian community. This year the theme focuses on the stories of carers asking them the question -  Why Do You Care? 1 in every 8 Australians is caring for a …

World Smile Day 2020

Yesterday, October 2nd, was World Smile Day. I hadn’t ever come across World Smile Day until I was doing a bit of research into International Days. There are so many International Days that there is just about one for every day of the year, but this one, World Smile Day, is certainly worth celebrating. Especially …

Our New Normal

Only a few months ago we were wondering what the new year would bring. At the time Australia was in the middle of an apocalyptic fire season. This was followed by floods. Now we are in the grip of the Corona Virus pandemic that is sweeping across the world, taking lives and dramatically changing the …

From Fire to Flood

Sometimes it doesn’t take too long for things to turn around.  At New Year, barely six weeks ago, we were struggling to muster any enthusiasm to welcome in a new year. Instead we were watching our country burn. Coupled with a crippling drought, we were looking to the skies, wondering when it would rain again …