Back in March 2020, with the first COVID-19 lockdown in place, and reports appearing of the way the virus was affecting people of colour in the USA and UK, I started to look at the research in Australia and the data in the government data collecting agencies about people our bureaucracies currently label CALD – Cultural and Linguistic Diverse Australians.
Then all the evidence from the worst of our allies proved indicative – meat works, nursing homes, crowded towers of poor people of colour – we had them all. And still as the death tolls rose, borders were frozen and lockdowns were intensified, no one thought it might be helpful to discover how the disease was tracking in different cultural communities. And that partnering with those communities might ensure the messages of safety and survival were accurately delivered where they were needed most.
Carers Australia
Carers Australia and the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia (FECCA) have welcomed the Government’s announcement of the $20 million in grants to be made available to deliver centre‑based day programs tailored to the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse seniors.
‘As testimony to the Aged Care Royal Commission has highlighted, mainstream aged care services do not always cater well to people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who need services which are compatible with their own linguistic and cultural norms,’ said Mary Patetsos, Chair of FECCA.
‘As people age and often revert to their first language, their need to engage with others who speak the same language can become acute – particularly if they are suffering with dementia. In the absence of such services, older people become socially isolated and deprived of meaningful social, recreational and therapeutic activities, with severe consequences for their