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Social Work is one of the vital services Cancer Council SA offers to our regional guests, who have travelled to Adelaide for cancer treatment. Our Social Worker, Steve is on hand to chat to our guests about practical issues, provide information about services, and offer a safe and confidential space to talk about some of the issues a cancer experience can bring.

Not only are our supported accommodation guests going through the overwhelming experience of a cancer diagnosis and treatment, but they are also away from the comforts of home, their family and their community.

Cancer Council SA Social Worker, Steve says he is there to check in with guests who are feeling overwhelmed by their cancer experience and help them access supports and information that can help.

“Some of our guests present with a variety of complex issues and concerns in addition to their cancer journey that impact their ability to navigate this tricky time. And some of our guests travel to Adelaide with little to no supports around them. My role is to aid and assist them through their cancer journey whilst they are residing at 202 Greenhill Road,” Steve says.

“As a Social Worker, my role is to recognise where people have barriers to getting help and assist them to both access available supports and empower them to be able to seek these supports for themselves in the future.”

“This can vary from discussing practical issues, assisting with Patient Transport Assistance Scheme forms, providing them with information about services, or just offering a safe and confidential space to talk about some of the emotions they may be experiencing.”

In the past year, 28,700 nights of accommodation have been provided through Cancer Council SA’s Greenhill Lodge accommodation with guests staying with us for as little as one night or for months on end, depending on their individual cancer journey. Our Social Workers are there to support all of our guests, if and when they need it.

Steve says the most rewarding part of being a social worker is the gratitude from our guests for the part he plays in making their experience in Adelaide, while receiving cancer treatment, as smooth as possible.

“It is a great honour and privilege to be a support to our guests during what can often be a difficult and challenging time – their journeys are speckled with emotional highs and lows, but the appreciation and acknowledgement we receive from our guests is proof that what we do makes a big difference in their lives,” Steve says.

Social work is just one of the vital services and supports available at Cancer Council’s Greenhill Lodge accommodation for guests and carers. Guests also have access to Transport to Treatment, counselling, and Cancer Council 13 11 20 Information and Support run by experienced cancer nurses.

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