Project Spotlight

Welcome to Givewell's Project Spotlight. Each month we highlight a project for which a charity is currently seeking funds. We also provide details on how to give directly for this project.

Organisation:	Wesley Mission Melbourne
Project Name:	Wesley Homeshare

Project Description:

Wesley Homeshare, a program of Wesley Mission Melbourne, connects older people and people with a disability (householders) with people who provide help around the home and companionship (homesharers) enabling householders to live in their homes longer, reducing feelings of social isolation and increasing safety.

Participants come from a broad and culturally diverse background, and the service is an excellent opportunity to increase community connectedness. 40 per cent of all householders and 66 per cent of homesharers were born overseas.

The service aims to prevent householders from prematurely entering residential care and is ideal for people who want to:

Keep their minds active and challenged;
Continue giving and contributing to others;
Enjoy meeting new people, especially young people and bringing them into their lives; and
Retain their independence in their own homes and remain involved in their local community. This is particularly important for householders with a disability.

A 2007 Social Ventures Australia (SVA) evaluation of Wesley Homeshare found many benefits, including:

Savings in rent for homesharers;
Improved happiness and quality of life for participants and their families;
The benefits outweigh the cost of the program by approximately $120K p.a.;
Improved quality of life for householders;
Savings to respite care;
Homesharers feel part of a family in Australia; and
Peace of mind for the families of householders who are unable to provide the level of care necessary (for example, families that live interstate or overseas etc).

Wesley Homeshare is the only Homeshare service operating in Melbourne. The program currently operates in the following Council areas: Bayside, Boroondara, Glen Eira, Kingston, Melbourne, Monash, Port Phillip, and Stonnington. Other City Council’s have shown strong interest and we hope to increase our capacity to deliver services to anyone in Melbourne who could benefit from this model of care. The service also aired on the ABC’s 7:30 Report (see transcript here).

Wesley Homeshare aims to increase its capacity to meet increasing demand. The service has grown significantly since its inception in 2001, experiencing a 44% increase in householder and a 27% increase in homesharer applications in 2007.

For more information, visit the Wesley Homeshare website http://www.wesley.org.au/programs/homeshare.html.

Can donors/grant makers give directly for this project? Yes. All donations over $2 are tax deductible.

If so, how?

1) Donate online. Visit our online donation here (donation site is run via site via ourcommunity.com.au).
2) Donate over the telephone. Call our fundraising department on (03) 9662 2355 or 1300 493 753 to make a credit card donation.
3) Via mail. Print off and complete our Donation Form (PDF 58kb).
4) Via Fax. Print off and complete our Donation Form (PDF 58kb) and fax your credit card donation to: (03) 9662 2407.
5) Make a regular monthly donation. Print off and complete our Donation Form (PDF 58kb) and fax or mail as above.

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