Named after the patron saint of Cyprus, St Andrews Elderly Hostel will be the new haven to offer comfort and tranquillity to elderly members of Greek and Cypriot communities of the western suburbs, as it officially opens its doors this Sunday.
The new aged care facility, built by the Community of Cypriots of the Northern Suburbs, and situated on Forrest Street, at Ardeer, will have a capacity of 45 beds – 30 beds for elderly care and 15 for dementia sufferers.
The president of the Community, Mr Panikos Minas, said the new complex was built with love to serve the wider community and, of course, our community’s fellow senior citizens.
“We went through the Department of Ageing, and when the opportunity for aged care in the western suburbs arose, we took it, and got 45 beds. We found land through council but faced a lot of difficulties. Finally the community managed to finish it, almost nine years after we got the grant,” Mr Panikos said.
For the new complex, the Community received a $800,000 federal government grant. Now completed with the support of the local community members and their voluntary work, the building cost over $3 million.
For the Community of Cypriots of Northern Suburbs, this is the second aged care facility, as The Grace of Mary Greek Cypriot Elderly Hostel was built in 1998 in Epping.
“We expect that the community will embrace and support it, as it did with the nursing home The Grace of Mary,” Mr Minas told Neos Kosmos.
“The western suburbs is the most populated community of Cypriots in Australia, and that was the reason we decided to built another aged care facility there. In the Epping nursing home we already have 42 beds, but we still need a lot more.
“The good thing is that in Epping we have 4 acres of land and in Sunshine 2.5 acres of land, so we do have a plan and space to extend the facilities,” Mr Minas said.
This Sunday, members of the Greek community are invited to join the Community of Cypriots of Northern Suburbs to officially open the doors of its new aged care facility. For those who wish to apply to be admitted, Mr Minas explained they will need to visit their GP and get assessed, and then apply for the hostel.
“We are an non-profitable organisation; the hostels belong to the community. We built the hostel to help the wider Greek community and the whole Australian community. St Andrews hostel is a multicultural hostel, while the Grace of Mary has priority for Greek speaking people.
“The whole Community of Northern Suburbs should be proud of their achievement as it wasn’t easy for a small community like ours to finish the hostel, without much support.”
The official opening and the blessing of the St Andrews Elderly Hostel will take place Sunday 30 March, at 2.00 pm, in the presence of religious authorities, federal and state parliamentarians, and other officials.
To join the team of volunteers of the Saint Andrews Elderly Hostel, contact Anna on 9408 8169 for more information.