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Industry accolade for men at work

on Tuesday, October 7, 2014

When Rhett Hobbs started as a personal care attendant four years ago, there was one issue that he found instantly unsettling.

While the female residents chatted daily about various activities during meals and downtime, the men had little to contribute to the conversation.

“You would see the men looking up at the ladies, thinking ‘what are they talking about, why don’t I have anything to talk about?’ Mr Hobbs says.

“The women discussed their activities for hours. The men didn’t have any activities, so they had nothing to talk about.”

So Rhett started ‘Tools for Life,’ a club exclusively for the men of Glenroy’s BlueCross Monterey aged care facility.

Two days a week the men get together to talk and tinker for an hour before lunch.

Using reclaimed wood and donated tools, they work on a number of projects, ranging from ladies jewellery boxes to wooden flower baskets.

Scarce on space and supplies, the Men’s Club still managed to walk away with the Better Practice Award this month, from the Government’s Australian Aged Care Quality Agency.

“We make do with what we’ve got and we’ve done really well,” Rhett skites.

For Rhett, the strength of the club exists in the relationships it has fostered.

“When we do sporting activities, the gentlemen sit together where they wouldn’t have before,” he says.

The men form a diverse bunch, and despite their varying levels of motor skills and cognitive ability, have found a way to get along and support each other.

There is Peter, who was in the army, John, a former cameraman for Channel 7 and Joe, who comes from an engineering background.

Rhett says, together, the men boast a wealth of knowledge, which they are always eager to share with the group.

“If I miss something, they let me know straight away. They keep me on my toes,” Rhett says.

“It’s amazing how much I’ve picked up from them.”

Some days, the men put down the tools, hook a lap top up to the television and just talk.

“We might start on a topic that has come up in the news and end up on a World War II beach in the Philippines,” Rhett says.

“It’s amazing how the conversation bounces but we don’t restrict them.

“We let them talk.”

The facility has already found a home for the Better Practice award in the trophy cabinet in the front foyer.

Rhett hopes the Government recognition will give ‘Tools for Life’ the license to source more materials and eventually expand the workshop area.

Until then, the rewards come less tangibly.

“Peter had never had a chance to use an electric screwdriver before,” Rhett says.

“You could just see the smile on his face.”

Image: Rhett and John fixing the screws. CREDIT: ALICE B.

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