Kate Dalton, an advocate with Elder Rights Advocacy, OPAN’s Victorian network member
Tell us a little about your background
I left school at 16 to work full time. When I was 18, I went to night school to get the qualifications I needed to go to university and do a Bachelor of Social Work. I also backpacked around Australia on a Greyhound bus, finally settling in Melbourne.
What made you decide to become an aged care advocate?
I’ve been asked this question in various ways over the years. For me, it’s always been a commitment to social justice. People have a right to a fair go at what they’re entitled to, and I can’t dress it up any other way.
What do you like most about the work you do?
For me, a magic moment happens when an older person tells me that they’re not going to be able to self-advocate, and then they do. When they say: ‘I’m not going to say a word in that meeting’, and then we go in, and I don’t have to say anything at all. When someone is there beside you, it gives people the confidence to self-advocate.
What do you like least?
What I perceive to be a continued inability to acknowledge that one size doesn’t fit all in relation to service provision. And that the guidelines, which, for me, are really a set of rules, can remove the capacity for innovative practice. One of the biggest things that I’ve learned is that providers would love to do a whole lot more than they are able to do, but they are grappling with that set of rules.
What has being an advocate taught you?
Everyone truly is different. Slow and steady wins the race – it might take me some time to complete an advocacy case because the issues can be very difficult. And I guess you could say patience. I don’t know that I’m a patient person, but I’ve learnt that it’s important as an advocate
What’s is the most surprising thing that’s happened to you on the job?
When I found myself giving a rendition of Delta Dawn during an information session.
It was a tough day at the office for me. I mean, you have to read the room – each session is different and this one was really hard. Trying to get participation and engagement, I said: ‘As I have a microphone in my hand, I kind of feel like I need to start doing some karaoke. Any takers?’ And one person said, ‘Delta Dawn’. I thought ‘OK’, and that’s what happened, which might sound ridiculous, but it was a way to start the conversation.
What makes you get out of bed in the morning?
It’s really simple: knowing that I can.
If you weren’t an advocate, what would you do instead?
I would work at Myer or David Jones. To fund myself through university, I worked in department stores. In many ways, it’s completely different from this work, but there’s one thing in common: I get to meet people and hear their stories,
