Read what our clients have to say about SMECC

FYI: Both my parents were born in Italy. My Dad has a grasp on the English language but mum has limited English.

They are now in their 90’s and 80’s respectively. As one would expect, with their age come health issues.

They both live at home and have been predominantly self sufficient however with their various health issues, maintaining and running the household is no longer a manageable task on their own. The extra support that they now need to maintain living at home,  falls in my lap.

I had approached My Aged Care to apply for help for Mum and Dad a couple of years ago but did not get very far on my own.

Having the services of SMECC (Miranda Lamattina and Joanne Dichiera) not only helped with applying for My Aged Care help again, but it also alleviated the necessity of having to work around my availability to be there personally as translator, with Mum and Dad, during the process.

Both Miranda and Jo kept in regular contact, since the initial meeting early in May this year, to see how things were progressing.

I am very happy to report that my parents now have home help booked fortnightly and access to maintenance service around the house and garden when needed.

With this help, both Mum and Dad will be able to continue to live independently at home, for quite some time to come.  This also lowers the risk of further aggravating their already health compromised lives.

I cannot express my thanks and gratitude enough to SMECC and the two lovely ladies that helped us get started with, what was in my eyes, a daunting process.

MY Aged Care and the services available are an unknown territory for our family. With Miranda and Jo’s help in applying for My Aged Care, and having their support throughout this process has  made it invaluable to both myself and my parents.

Thank you again for the wonderful service.

Keep up the great work!!

To whom it may concern,
I am writing to you, to express my gratitude to Samia Fox and let you know how incredible she is to people in need.
On behalf of my family I want to express my gratitude to Samia Fox for the help and support she’s providing us through very challenging times.
My mother and sister escaped the war in Ukraine and had lots of difficulties settling in a new country, leaving their life behind and generally going through some very hard times.
Samia showed so much compassion and understanding not only to them, but also continuously helping me to overcome personal  challenges that come with it.
I am very inspired by her attitude, knowledge and skill and all the infinite energy she puts towards helping people like us.
The amount of help that me and my family require is a lot, even when I felt like it would be too much to ask for, Samia would reach out and help gratuitously.
She is an incredible person who will always pick up her phone, listen and say: “leave it with me, I’ll deal with it”.
With her systemic approach she ensured that my family and me not only got help with our medical or psychological needs, but also with spiritual, social, emotional, and physical needs.
During the emergency situation that my sister have had, Samia offered help in an incredibly quickly time manner.
Samia, the words can’t describe how grateful we are to you.
Thank you that you care! Thanks for coordinating us with different agencies, giving us resources and connecting us with appropriate organisations.
We wouldn’t be able to manage without you and really appreciate all the help in such challenging times.
Your extraordinary efforts for helping us are truly remarkable.
Thanks for your generosity, tremendous efforts and a very big heart!

From: Judith 
Date: 23 July 2022 at 8:22:45 am AEST
To: Sami 
Subject: Thank You

Dear Sami,

Thank you for speaking at our Afternoon Tea. Everyone really enjoyed getting to know you and to hear your story. We have had lots of positive feedback from those present. It was also good to hear of your work with the refugee community. How lucky they and we are to have you there. The members of the Gannawarra Refugee Support Group look forward to seeing you again soon.

Yours sincerely

Jacqueline and Judy