‘Moving on’ made easy
There can be “great trauma” involved in moving homes – particularly for older people entering residential aged care. “I could see the stress in people’s eyes, as much as they wanted to move, it was very unsettling for them,” Lisa Oshlack, founder and director of aged care and retirement relocation specialists, Moving On, says.
There can be “great trauma” involved in moving homes – particularly for older people entering residential aged care.
“I could see the stress in people’s eyes, as much as they wanted to move, it was very unsettling for them, but even more so, there was great emotional stress for an elderly person moving out of their home and into an aged care facility,” Lisa Oshlack, founder and director of aged care and retirement relocation specialists, Moving On, says.
It began when Ms Oshlack’s second child was ready to begin school; she wanted to do something worthwhile with her time. She wasn’t asking for much; just a career that would help people, use her organisational and project management skills and have flexible working hours.
In 2005, Ms Oshlack received a phone call from her family accountant. He knew her work history well, which included wedding coordinator at age 18, banquet manager at five star hotels at age 22 and English lecturer in Japan in her mid 20s.
He asked Ms Oshlack to clear out a deceased estate just north of the city in Sydney. A woman had passed away and her children were interstate and were unable to vacate her two bedroom apartment. Being the executor of her Will, he had the authority to manage her property for the family.
“I jumped at the opportunity. I went for a site inspection and quickly understood what needed to be done. I pulled out my trusty clipboard and began scribbling all the services I would need to clear the space: removalist, cleaner, second hand dealer, charity, handy man…the list went on,” Ms Oshlack says.
She coordinated the project and it was ready for sale within days.
“It was a great feeling to have helped a family in their time of need. Then it struck me, this could be a business,” she says.
“This is when I decided to specialise in aged care relocations, helping people move into aged care and retirement villages with compassion and care.”
Moving On is a specialists in aged care and retirement relocation, offering people a beginning to end, reliable, confidential, efficient and compassionate range of services that make the process of ‘moving on’ as comfortable and stress free as possible.
Ms Oshlack remembers working with a lady who was going to move into a new aged care facility.
“She had three massive built in wardrobes absolutely full of clothes that needed downsizing. As she didn’t want to throw anything out, we had to go through each garment and discuss it. Did it still fit? Were there any stains? Was it still in fashion?”
One of Ms Oshlack’s saddest stories is seeing a beautiful big mansion lived in for many years by a couple.
“The man had passed away a decade ago and the woman lived alone. When she needed to be moved into an aged care facility, I was called in to clear out and prepare the premises for sale.
“The woman had dementia, no children or relatives nearby and her living conditions were appalling. She had confined herself in a small corner of a large formal dining room upstairs, like a squatter, rubbish everywhere, living in squaller.
“From the outside, you would think, lucky person who lives there. But the reality was quite different.”
