Seachange Miami was developed by CHL and the Queensland Government for eligible Queenslanders aged 55 and over. The complex has high-quality homes with features to give older people the accessibility and support they need to age-in-place in their own communities. The complex was perfect for Christine who recently moved in. She is an author and advocate for older people including those living with dementia and she is focused on giving back to her community.
“I have 10 grown up children and lots of health issues including being diagnosed with dementia, so life has been a struggle at times. I was living in Tugan before because I wanted to be near my son who had cancer. When he passed away, we spread his ashes at Duranbah (D-bah) beach. My dream for him was to have a home and even though he has gone I have a place now that is quiet and secure. It makes me happy.”
Christine’s new two-bedroom home has the features she needs as well as space for family to visit. “My two grandchildren visit and one of my daughters who lives with a disability visits and can stay in the spare bedroom,” she says.
The Seachange Miami property is designed to create a sense of community and enable wellbeing. The communal rooftop, shared barbeque space and community garden help customers to connect, relax and enjoy hobbies and community activities.
“The rooftop is wonderful. When my kids visit we can have a barbeque. If I see any rubbish around, I will put it in the bin. I will do what I can – that’s my thing. It’s about the community.”
Christine’s love of gardening has influenced her children. “One of my sons is a horticulturalist and he plants trees all the way up to Woodford. Another worked on the restoration of Kirra Hill. Most of my kids are garden conscious. I have two living in an eco-village in NSW, one is planting lots of natives and the other is planting avocados,” she says.
Now that she has settled in her new home, Christine is continuing her advocacy work.
“I was asked to join the Gold Coast Primary Health Network (PHN). They knew that I had been in public and social housing and that I was an advocate for people with dementia and mental health issues. This year we are working on heart health and it might be dementia next year.”
Supporting people with dementia and creating a more compassionate community is important to Christine.
“I would like to make things more dementia friendly, such as making shopping centres easier for people to navigate. There are also subsidies that people often don’t know about, like the half-priced taxi card and the companion card. I want to share this information,” she says.
Christine has written a self-funded book about living with dementia that is available in libraries.
“It’s called ‘Tears and Laughter of Alzheimer’s and Dementia’. It was all about finding out about my diagnosis. I wrote about putting the rubbish in the washing machine and not being able to find my Christmas dinner because I put it in the cupboard. I included the facts and figures but also the funny things. I wanted to share that you might not be able to do anything about having dementia, but you can live with it and cope as best you can.”
Christine also enjoys bringing joy to her local community. “I have a friend and we get dressed up in matching outfits that we’ve bought at op shops. We go out into the community, to shopping centres and we make people happy. People who see us say ‘we love what you’re doing’. There are so many people out there who are unhappy and we want to make them happy.”
