THE WRITE CARE PROGRAM
CAPTURING CHERISHED MEMORIES FOR THE FAMILY
Caring for the Aged with a difference
The Write Care program provides counselling care for the older generation while working with them to capture their life story and write a memory book that can be cherished and passed on as a keepsake to family members.
Who runs The Write Care program?
Gill Kenny is a qualified counsellor and a writer. This combination of expertise and skills enables her to be a good listener who approaches her clients with care, compassion and empathy.
As a writer, Gill spent many years working at Hello! Magazine in London and Madrid where she gained experience interviewing Hollywood stars and local legends. Since then, her work has been published in major media in the UK, Ireland, and Australia.
Gill has amassed a big following of people who subscribe to her regular blog which she publishes through her website, gillkennywriter.com.
She is a regular contributor to radio where she shares her insights about mental health, and the joys of storytelling and writing.
Gill has always loved spending time with people of the older generation and spent some years working as a companion and carer to them in their own homes. References are available on request.
From experience, Gill has learnt that when the older generation pass away, their families are often deeply saddened that they didn’t have the time to record the story of their loved one. It is not uncommon for family members to only learn about their adventures from others following their passing.
On this basis, Gill has developed The Write Care program as a way to capture the many stories that make up a person’s life while caring for them with compassion and kindness.
Gill’s qualifications
Gill’s qualifications include:
- Diploma of Counselling
- Diploma of Reflexology
- Certificate in Narrative Therapy
- Certificate IV in Youth Work
- Certificate in Applied Suicide Intervention Skills (ASIST)
- Certificate of Accreditation by Mental Health First Aid Australia
- SMART Recovery Australia Certified Facilitator
- Registered with the Australian Counselling Association
How does The Write Care work?
The Write Care program is a three-month investment. It is carried out on a one-on-one basis, with confidentiality assured. Gill has the requisite police check, insurance and working-with-children card.
The average memory book takes three months to produce. Here is how the program works:
- The Write Care program begins with a meeting to ensure suitability.
- Upon signing an agreement, a questionnaire will be sent to draw out the chronology of the client’s life, to include a recent family tree, where the client was born, key milestones, dates, countries lived in and major life experiences.
- Once a start date is agreed, Gill will visit the client in their place of residence and spend two hours weekly caring for them while recording the stories and anecdotes that they wish to share.
Gill Kenny uses her skills in oral history to explore with a gentle curiosity what life was like for you and what was happening during certain periods of your life.
These two-hour caring and recording sessions will occur weekly for three months at a regular time that is determined by the client.
If the client desires, photos can be scanned and included in the final product. Gill offers a number of different options in terms of the finished product.
It’s the client’s choice whether they simply want the recordings transcribed and presented as a folder of typed pages or whether they would prefer a professionally produced colour book that is perfect-bound with a hard-cover and with as many pages as they desire. This will also be determined by how much information is recorded and/or made available.
As the material is transcribed, edited and proofread, it can be handed over electronically on a weekly basis as a Word document. If the client chooses the full book printing option, they will be provided with proofs to view before the final version is printed, bound and delivered.
What does The Write Care program cost?
An edited transcript will be provided in soft copy (Microsoft Word or PDF) for free.
Photo scanning and book printing incur extra costs which will be charged separately based on content and quantity.