Chris Donnelly
“At first, to be honest I probably didn’t even want to do it because I was terrified of the environment, having so little experience even just with old age, let alone dementia. But I love it now and I will continue to do it, as long as I have the time.”
“I’m fine in a room full of drunken dickheads. But a bunch of older people requiring a very different kind of attention is just something I’d had no experience with.”
“I get a lot out of it. It took me a while because I was so nervous every time I was in there. I don’t know them, and they don’t know me. It is a weird interaction. But it’s a good thing to be exposed to. Old age; it’s coming for us all.”
Chris started volunteering with Castlemaine Health supporting their library service to residents before the current public health crisis. Now he has found himself working on the coal face during the pandemic. The people he helps, and cares for, are among the highest risk group in our community.
Recently, he’s been asked to fulfill a role completely unimagined before the times of Carona.
“As of today, residents in the aged care unit are allowed to have guests again. They need someone on the door taking people’s temperatures, checking that they’ve had a flu shot, and running through a standard bunch of questions, like: “Are you sick? No? Good.”
Chris has a wry, self deprecating humour that comes through when he speaks about the contribution he makes to community life. But despite this the meaning he finds in quietly helping people is apparent.
“It’s a nice thing to be involved in, particularly at the moment where you’re otherwise doing nothing. To go and facilitate people being able to see their elderly parents.”
“It’s the first time in 7 or 8 weeks a lot of them have seen their kids. Without the attachment with the outside world it’s an incredibly dark world in many ways. But the staff are incredible. People who work in that world, I will eternally be impressed by.”
I can’t help but think of my sister and her husband who both work in a local nursing home kitchen. It strikes me that Covid 19 has brought the societal value of roles like the ones Chris and my sister fulfill, into sharp focus. A profound part of their seemingly mundane work is the human connection they’re offering to the residents living in these institutional spaces. And never more so than during an extended public health lock down.
Chris is a local Jack of Many Trades, among those most recently in his work repertoire are: Removalist, Band and Bar tender, TV show Runner, Pub Home Delivery Driver, and Librarian!
Chris works as a casual at Castlemaine Library where he got his start volunteering with the Home Library Program, which led him to volunteering at the hospital facilitating the use of the Castlemaine Library collection for their aged care residents.
“Annie, who spearheads the library service at the hospital, told Jess she could use a hand with the selection and delivery of Goldfields Library resources. I became that hand.”
But despite his diverse capacities, Chris is one of the many casual workers locally, whose lives and incomes have been upended by the pandemic.
“On the whole I’ve been pretty happy to just to hang out at home until recently. Everything is pretty precarious financially and housing wise. Most of our friends are in the same boat. I don’t know you just get on with it don’t you? You don’t have much choice.”
Chris talks about how difficult it has been to get a foot in the door of permanent employment locally, and about the unexpected support he’s received from Goldfields Libraries who have continued to pay their casual employees throughout the public health shut downs which resulted in so many suddenly losing their jobs overnight.
“I was staggered. It was amazing to me that they were doing that for casuals. The timing was very important because there was no Job Keeper payment yet. We relied on that income for the first month.”
“It's nice to have a CEO regularly telling casuals that their jobs still exist. It took me a long time to get an in, and I’ve very much valued being told that that door is still open."
Chris talks about one of the Castlemaine Health aged care residents he visits regularly.
“I’d been told he was a bit difficult. “Sorry he’s very up and down. He likes the Monarchy, and he likes Navy vessels, and that’s it. ” And then I started talking to him and realised “You’re not what I’ve been told at all.””
“I’ve really enjoyed being able to take what I was told about this person, and then through chatting to him and looking at what he had around in his room, realising this is someone who is far more interesting than just liking the Monarchy and boats.”
“I started bringing him weird stuff and just seeing how he’d go with it. We started watching Warhol stuff from the 60’s. Like, really cool stuff. Or even just books on Street Art, which is very, very different to Renaissance painting. And seeing how it goes and just sort of relating as humans.”
I proceed to embarrass Chris by sharing my observation about his capacity for genuine sensitivity and patience in this role he’s started out with so much trepidation about. After being given a couple of dot points about who a person is, he’s gone in there with a curiosity and gentleness, and just listened and connected with him.
“He’s a really sweet, curious old fella. And we’ve formed quite a good relationship.”
Further Information:
Addendum: As I’m sitting at my desk editing this story for the Castlemaine Mail print deadline tomorrow morning, there’s a knock on the glass door. It’s Chris wearing one of his many hats, with my dinner from The Bridge Hotel. The Bridge Hotel have gotten a pandemic home delivery service up and running in record time! They’ve also teamed up with local businesses Cliffords Quality Cuts Page, Sprout Bakery and Gung Hoe Growers to offer a free pub meal to people doing it tough at the moment, which they’ve called Trooper Tuesdays.
How good’s this community!