InGoodHands was born right during the pandemic. We have observed how impacted our community was with the restrictions and its impact on physical and mental health of some of our most vulnerable communities, people with disability and the elderly. The hard lockdown restrictions in Victoria meant families could not see each other for weeks if not months. It was simply heart breaking.Thus we have set out to find a way to connect our community more, enable each and every member to live a better life and feel supported and in good hands. We believe that our loved ones deserve to live with dignity and respect and live as they choose . We often worry if we can’t visit or call on our loved ones and having an extended network of support for our family members means we can reduce the stress and increase quality of life for everyone.
Inspired by her mother who was first a teacher for over 25 years and later retrained as an Aged Care nurse, the founder, Irene has decided to bring to Australia, what is these days quite a common practice in Germany. To have live-in support.“My mother had care support for over seven years. Starting with her husband who had Parkinson's and over the years developed Dementia and later for her parents who were simply growing older and more frail. Depending on the needs over the years she would have carers who would assist her husband to go for walks, make him and join him for lunch or simply be there to ensure he was less anxious, thus allowing my mother to continue working. For her parents she later had different carers. They would speak Russian and would assist my grandmother to take a shower, get dressed and do her hair nicely. They would have a similar cultural background and thus a lot of common topics to talk about, not only for my grandparents but also my mother and her helper. In my mothers words - it was important for my own sanity and well-being to have another ‘adult’ rather than patient in the house.”Irene holds a Masters in Education and Bachelors in Business. She worked and studied in German, Russian Federation and Australia, before moving to Melbourne permanently and starting a family with her Husband. She has worked in corporate and has built a social enterprise called 99aupairs prior to expanding with InGoodHands.“For me InGoodHands is simply a continuation of the service provided to young families with Au Pairs, Nannies and Housekeeping. Now we can be of service to our community from young to old and be there when they need us most. Seeing someone go from struggling to striving is our reason for being.”