HammondCare's 90th anniversary year has been a brutal one of multiple lockdowns, high COVID infection, flu rates and floods, but HammondCare staff courageously rose to the challenge.

HammondCare Chief Executive Mike Baird said brutal and courageous were the two words that quickly came to mind when he considered the financial year that was covered in HammondCare Annual Report 2022: 90 years Daring to Care, now available.

“It might not have been as tough as our first year in 1932, during the Great Depression, but it was pretty close,” he said. “It certainly was brutal, but that’s only part of the story. Again and again, it was met by the remarkable courage of our team, whose stories you can read in the annual report.”

Among the stories highlighted in the annual report of the independent Christian charity is care worker Roshni who, although separated from her family in Nepal, chose to refocus on the safety, dignity and happiness of residents so they and her teammates became like family.

She stopped taking trains and buses to work, switching to rideshare options to minimise the chance of catching Covid and passing it on.

Mike referred to the palliative care team at Braeside Hospital who, when faced with a request by a dying mum to attend her daughter’s wedding, rather than saying no drew on the support of HammondCare’s The Dreams Project and found a way for her to be the smiling, gorgeous mother of the bride with paramedics nearby.

Then there’s Gabriel from Lismore who in the midst of swirling flood waters, hung from the gutter of his house for hours, with his first thought being for how his clients were faring. When help finally arrived, he directed them to his neighbour. 

“Let’s not forget the dozens of enabling team members who left their desks, donned PPE and served alongside their frontline colleagues during the toughest time,” Mr Baird said.

Despite the adversity, Mr Baird said the HammondCare team held tight to the sacred Mission of HammondCare to be passionate about improving the quality of life for people in need. “Staff found purpose in their roles and put others first."

As HammondCare celebrated 90 years since the Rev Bob Hammond launched his pioneer settlement near Liverpool for 110 families left destitute during the Great Depression, the annual report confirms the organisation is focused on the future.

“We’ve continued to take ground in our Next Chapter Ambition, to set the global standard of relationship-based care and to increase our care for those others can’t or won’t."