Published on Thursday 15 October, 2020

The lockdown period has been particularly tough on many of us, especially for our amazing Support Workers in Victoria where heavy restrictions have been in place for several months.

When COVID-19 restrictions were first announced in Victoria, Support Worker Nnamdi Chukwukelu’s first thoughts were “How will I continue to maintain community and social access for the people I support?”

Nnamdi, who’s been a Support Worker with Lifestyle Solutions for over two years, provides individual supports, primarily focussing on community, social and recreational access.

“It’s so important for the people we support to get involved in the community to build their social skills and enjoy new experiences. I was very concerned about the pandemic and the impact this could have on our customers,” said Nnamdi.

On top of the physical effects that the virus can have on people’s health, Nnamdi was aware of the emotional and mental toll that the current situation could cause so he wanted to make sure he was providing the best possible level of care.

“With the current situation, I am trying to make sure to take care of myself physically, emotionally and mentally and wanted to do the same for the people I support.”

“I have regular conversations with the people in my care to check-in and see how they’re doing. I made sure they understood what was happening and why we couldn’t go out in the community,” said Nnamdi.

One of the people Nnamdi provides supports to is Tom* with whom he shares a great relationship and a passion for watching sports. With no sport to watch on television, or in the community, Nnamdi decided it was a great opportunity to get Tom* to increase his physical activity.

“Tom and I did lots of walking during the lockdown period in areas where we knew there wouldn’t be a lot of people. Now Tom loves to go out walking in the community and even goes in his own personal time.”

Nnamdi was overwhelmed with how well the people we support and our Support Workers adapted to a new way of living.

“It’s been a very interesting experience but I think remaining level-headed really helps and I’m lucky to have amazing support from my colleagues and Lifestyle Solutions,” said Nnamdi.

“I get so much personal fulfilment from working as a Support Worker and know I’m changing lives for the better,” said Nnamdi.

Thank you, Nnamdi, for the important work you do helping to keep the people we support and the community safe and well.