Resident Interviews

Since safe at home measures were introduced by the Victorian Government to stop the spread of COVID-19, Rushall Park resident Irene Renzenbrink has had time to reflect on her working life which has centred on loss and grief, as well as palliative care, and how she is adapting to this strange new world.

When Jo Portlock ‘retired’ four years ago to Rushall Park, she thought she could at last begin to slow down.

Sanctuary is how artist Gillian Coates describes her home at Currie Park, OCAV’s village in Euroa.

Vera Lay's father joined the Salvation Army when he migrated from England in 1927.  He gave his family sound advice, one being to "Go through life with the palm of your hand down, in that way you are giving, not taking".

Carole Baxter is discovering some of her old haunts and creating new ones as she settles into her new home at Rushall Park in North Fitzroy.

Margaret and George Young moved to Rushall Park 19 years ago expecting to see out their days there. So far so good. The pair, who celebrated 75 years of marriage this year, are one of the oldest couples in the North Fitzroy village.

Ken Trimble has made Currie Park his home. So much so, that he is sharing a poem he has written about the village with future residents.

It’s taken more than 70 years for Mim Dale to find a safe, secure and loving home. After she moved into OCAV’s Braeside Park village in Berwick two years ago, her nervous nights ended and she found the sanctuary she had been hoping to find since she was a child.

Kay Baker felt like she had won the lottery when she arrived at Leith Park in 2015. Four years down the track she reckons it was better than winning the lottery.

Dina Van Dyk promised her husband, John, before he died, that she would live a ‘useful’ life. She has certainly fulfilled that promise. In less than a year she has found herself safe and secure housing, established friendships and put her hand up to run the Residents’ Committee at Currie Park, OCAV’s village in Euroa.