A shared desire to help the community has brought local Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury teenagers together to call isolated seniors during another Sydney lockdown. This initiative, backed by MP Susan Templeman, has young volunteers calling seniors in the area to have a chat.
Volunteers are given a specific list of welfare questions to ask seniors but many relish the opportunity to talk about their gardens and, even, the weather. Mostly, though, the phone call recipients are appreciative of the fact they have someone to talk to during this time.
Templeman says the calls are in place to check on welfare and reiterates that there is no politics involved here: “this isn’t the time for politics, but rather a time for compassion.”