Two decades of support and friendship

My relationship with the ladies in this photo spans over 20 years. As a young woman who just turned 20, I decided I wanted to make a change in my career, from a sales support position to something where I could perhaps make a difference in people’s lives. Wendy (second from right) was one of the people who interviewed me. Straight away Wendy made me feel comfortable and certain in my decision that I was going to be working with such lovely people.

While I thought I could make a difference in people’s lives, little did I realise at the time just how much these ladies would impact on my own life. Some of the things these ladies brought to me and taught me were their compassion, their understanding, empathy, care for others, and most definitely their sense of humour and cheekiness.

There were areas of our lives we shared along the way such as joy with family weddings, new nephews and nieces arriving, the grief of the passing of a loved one, and many more experiences. One of my favourite memories was Cathy (front left) saying to me in all seriousness ‘your husband looked so beautiful at your wedding Helen, and you looked alright too.’

At the time, I thought I was unique in this situation, but as the years go by, I realise these ladies have impacted on the lives of so many other people who have had the honour of working with them. Recently I had the chance to visit the ladies in their new home. While so much had changed such as legislations, policies and procedures (and we’ve all aged 20 years!) it was very clear that the same humour, love and compassion was still there, and what a wonderful job the current staff working with these ladies are doing. It absolutely filled my heart.

Helen Amos
Behaviour Support Practitioner

Click here to learn more about Interaction’s Accommodation services.