Pictured: HammondCare Life Stories Volunteer Sandra and Home Care client Joseph
When Melanie from HammondCare’s pastoral care team first visited Home Care client Joseph, he shared what was weighing on his mind. ‘I was thinking about writing a book about my life, but I feel I have run out of time,’ he said. ‘I don’t want my stories to die with me.’
Melanie moved quickly. She reached out to her colleague Volunteer Coordinator Alison, who connected with Sandra, one of HammondCare’s volunteer Life Stories writers. Sandra was able to visit Joseph at short notice.
After a fall, Joseph was admitted to his local hospital and his need to capture his story became even more urgent. Sandra sat with him at his bedside as he began sharing his remarkable journey, starting with arriving here by ship from war torn Europe at just four years old.
When Joseph moved to another hospital to begin receiving palliative care, Sandra continued their conversations. ‘He told me wonderful stories from his life but especially the 32 years he worked as a bus driver. That’s also where he met the love of his life, Josephine, who regularly caught his bus on the way to her job at David Jones.’
On one trip, when a passenger couldn’t pay the fare, Joseph accepted a hand-drawn sketch of him driving the bus instead. Today, that picture features in the life story Sandra and Joseph created together.
It’s been a team effort. Another HammondCare volunteer, Lesley, brought her editing expertise along to help finalise Joseph’s story.
Melanie says the life story has meant more than words on a page. ‘The telling of his story fulfils a spiritual need for Joseph. It’ not just providing clinical care and practical support.’
Alison adds that Joseph was also keen to share what he’d learned about this late stage of his life. ‘It can be a time of personal power—of truth telling. And it’s been a huge privilege for everyone involved to help bring his story together. Seeing it in print has brought him both joy and peace, as well as some closure.
‘It’s been powerful to witness.
‘Now it’s all there in one place for his family to read – now and in the future.
About our Life Stories program
HammondCare’s Life Stories program connects clients, patients and residents with trained volunteer writers to capture and preserve their personal stories in a professionally presented keepsake book. Through gentle, guided conversations, volunteers help people reflect on the special moments, relationships and experiences that have shaped their lives—creating something tangible that can be shared with family now and treasured for generations to come.