In 1996, I attended a corporate breakfast meeting at which the guest speaker, Bryan Lipmann, spoke about Wintringham. He presented photos of vulnerable elderly Melbournians who have lived in squalor or slept rough, and then contrasted them with pictures of the beautiful surroundings in which many of them now live at Wintringham. He spoke of the dignity and respect they receive from the Wintringham team.
 
It is fair to say that his audience was humbled. We admitted that we don’t often see old homeless people on the streets of Melbourne as we did in the past, and as seen in most of the world’s large cities. How is it, we asked each other, that this team looks after our elderly homeless and we were not
aware of their existence? Why do lowly paid staff care for these people with genuine dignity rather than a sense of duty or charity?
 
There was a story here worth telling.
 
This book has been written independently of Wintringham. However, the Wintringham staff, Bryan Lipmann and the Wintringham Board have all kindly contributed their time, answering my questions as I endeavoured to understand. I thank them for trusting me with their story.
 
Karen Le Rossignol of Deakin University was similarly inspired and agreed to contribute countless hours guiding the project and editing the text. Without her, the book would not have been written.
The William Buckland Foundation, through the administration of ANZ Trustees, has also contributed to the production of this book. I am grateful to both organisations for making this book possible.
 
Elaine Farrelly