Non-driving seniors can get support from home care

Studies show that older people giving up on driving can have an effect on their wellbeing and even lead to depression.

Older drivers stop driving due to declining health which results in social isolation, difficulty getting out into local communities and continue doing activities they are used to.

An option to help bridge the mobility gap is to access social support and transport services through a home care provider to do activities.

Envigor home care client Cecil Collins gets taken for drives around his local area.

Collins’ daughter Glenda says driving has always been a big part of Collins’ life and has fond memories of her father taking the family on drives around Sydney when she was younger.

“We didn’t have much of a car – we only had a truck sometimes – but we would go out as a family, have a picnic and investigate 160km from Sydney,” Glenda says.

“I mentioned the driving as it’s so important for dad to go out and see new things because that’s what he did with us kids – he took us out

After speaking with Envigor about her father’s care plan situation, Collins’ social support visits have allowed him to get out and about.

Collins says every Monday morning he goes out for a coffee.

Glenda says the simple act of going for a drive and stopping for coffee has given her dad a lot.

“He’s able to go out, see all the new things that weren’t around when he first moved up, all the developments, the roads, the shops, the hospitals. That’s the gem of the outings – to go somewhere.”