The heart and soul of Texas
Joan White is one of the everyday heroes who has been nominated for the Everald Compton Community Champion Medal.
About the medal
The Everald Compton Community Champion Medal is a distinguished accolade established to acknowledge the unsung heroes among older Australians.
The medal honours National Seniors Australia’s Founding Father’s long standing and outstanding contribution to the Australian community while celebrating everyday champions who are “turning grey into gold” with grassroot experiences and selfless contributions that make a significant difference in their communities.
It also reflects NSA’s values of fairness, excellence, and respect exemplified by Everald’s own experience and achievements.
The award will be announced on 1 October, which is the International Day of the Older Person.
For more information about the award, including how to make a nomination click here.
Across rural and regional Australia, communities function and flourish due to the efforts of individuals who step up to fill a need.
Texas, on the Queensland side of the border with New South Wales, and about 300 kilometres southwest of Brisbane, has a population of around 800 people.
It doesn’t have the facilities of the city, but the people have the same needs – and one of those is a growing requirement for home assistance for older residents.
Joan White first confronted this about 12 years ago when her husband Stumpy – his given name is Alan, but nobody calls him that – began showing signs of dementia. They are pictured together at the top of this article.
As Stumpy’s condition progressed, Joan became his carer. Through that journey, she found out about the Federal Government’s Home Care Package.
Packages are available to older Australians who need them – but the help can only be accessed through a registered provider. And in tiny Texas, there was no provider.
Well, Joan’s no stranger to challenges and hardship.
“We had to shoot 63 head of cattle during one of the droughts,” she recalled. “It was so sad.”
Her priority was organising respite care – somebody to come in and look after Stumpy while she took a break to recharge her batteries.
With no satisfactory solution available, Joan became determined to create one to help the growing number of people in the community who needed Home Care assistance.
The struggle to find assistance for Stumpy took its toll on Joan’s own health.
“I ended up having a heart attack and needed a triple bypass,” she said. “Something was telling me to get things in order.”
She battled on. Through her persistence, a link was forged with Trilogy Care, which agreed to act as the provider to fulfil government requirements, and, in 2023, Texas Home Life Care was born.
This not-for-profit incorporated community organisation works with people who have an approved Home Care Package. It employs locals to support package recipients in the town of Texas and surrounding areas.
At the time of writing, Texas Home Life Care is operating 15 packages with another 10 going through the approval process. Demand will increase as the population ages.
Elissa Wright, one of the people who nominated Joan for the Everald Compton Community Champion Award, told Connect that Joan “has done a fantastic job of getting the elderly people of this town services that they need to keep these people in their homes longer”.
Elissa said, “If something needs to be done and will benefit the community, Joan is the person everyone goes to to get the job done.
“Her door is always open to those who want to talk about anything and everything.”
And Joan herself has some advice for people who may require extra support to continue living well in their own home as they get older:
“As soon as you turn 65 [the age of eligibility], for goodness’ sake, register with My Aged Care.”
