01 Mar '11

As Brisbane rallied around the thousands of residents who had been evacuated by the rising flood waters a small group of residents at TriCare’s Mt Gravatt Retirement Village were preparing for their own evacuees – fellow residents from James Ommaney Village.

A small number of evacuated residents were unable to get to, or didn’t have family or friends in the area and were displaced by the floods with no-where to go.

Mt Gravatt Retirement Village was the obvious choice to relocate these residents to as it was high and dry and had all of the services and provisions in place to cater to the evacuated residents.

Generously, a number of residents put up their hand to host the evacuated residents in their spare bedroom so that the residents didn’t have to sleep in a village common area.

James Ommaney Village residents only had a short time to grab the essentials they would need like clothing and medication and were boarding the bus not knowing how long they would be gone for and whether they would have a home to return to when the waters subsided.

Kathie Donaldson and Amy Williams were two of the residents evacuated with Ms Donaldson describing the sense of bewilderment at being evacuated.

“It was scary not knowing where we would end up and what we would return to”, Ms Donaldson said.

“I have been spoilt rotten though and I am so grateful.”

Mrs Williams added that she left her home with her possessions in a cardboard box ‘tied with a ribbon’,
she’d never been evacuated before and couldn’t believe their good fortune being given a home away from home at Mt Gravatt Retirement Village.

“We didn’t want to impose but it was so kind of them.” Mrs Williams said.

Hosts Ron & Shirley Willmott didn’t hesitate when presented with the opportunity to host a resident.

“There was such a need and we were just doing our bit with everyone in such turmoil,” Mr Willmott said.

Other hosts Rae & Stan Haines were very impressed with how the process was managed and how village management communicated with everyone what was happening.

“TriCare and Village Management did their best to keep everyone informed, Ladelle (Village Manager) was wonderful and didn’t let anyone get uptight – the communication and care has been fantastic.”

Mr & Mrs Haines offered to help out as their parents were evacuated from Jindalee in 1974 and as community minded people just wanted to help out.

TriCare sincerely thanks those residents at Mt Gravatt Retirement Village who opened their homes to the James Ommaney Village evacuees giving them a ‘home away from home’.  We are pleased to advise that the power was restored a week and a half after the flooding (a week later than we were expecting it to be turned on!) and all residents are settling back in to their homes after their harrowing ‘adventure’.