Bev and Kay: A family journey in caring

This mother and daughter are happy giving back to the community by helping people with their home care needs.

Their interest in the Home Care sector was generated as a result of personal experiences with a family member who has a disability.

Bev Bardsley, a Support Worker, and daughter, Kay, a Service Coordinator, are based at the Footscray office, Australian Home Care’s largest regional centre providing services to people in Melbourne Metropolitan North, West and Barwon regions in Victoria.

Bev’s experiences in working with people with disabilities began with her son.

Bev had been unable to work for some years because her son needed her at home but was fortunate to have some home care services. “I really appreciated the services and found them to be very helpful,” she says.

Initially, Bev was a home helper, doing cleaning work. After completing additional training, she now works as a qualified aged and disability support worker, bringing a personal empathy to the role. Her day can be spent working with an elderly lady with dementia, providing respite for parents of a child with autism, cooking or helping people with a disability with hoist transfers or showering.

Kay, 24, is a full time Service Coordinator in the northern suburbs of Melbourne.

From a young age Kay, too, was interested in a career where she helped others. She first worked part time at Australian Home Care as a receptionist, then later as a respite worker, helping a small number of Care Recipients with complex needs as a result of their disability.

Now, as a Service Coordinator, Kay balances the service requirements of approximately 110 Care Recipients with a range of domestic assistance, low care and complex care needs with the resources of around 90 Support Workers in the northern suburbs.

Kay says people from all walks of life end up working in the disability sector.

“It’s normally people who have personal experience with disabilities, or have received help in the past as I have, and want to give back to the community.”

Since joining Australian Home Care, Kay has enjoyed a challenging and satisfying career path with the organisation, which is fulfilling her personal desire to work with people with disabilities.

She sees her future working in the disability sector and developing her career within Australian Home Care, taking advantage of opportunities to continue her training and development and take on new challenges as they arise.