Colac’s community-owned hospice needs donations to continue its homelike end-of-life care

Palliative care doesn’t just mean the last few days of life. For Anam Cara house, in Colac, it can be a relationship built in stages across a decade. 

Now, the hospice is in need of fundraising to continue its work. 

What's that? Anam Cara House is a community-owned hospice that provides palliative, respite and end-of-life care for people in south-west Victoria. 

• “It’s a lovely mix of accessible care when people need it the most,” General Manager Naomi Lettieri told the Brolga. “It’s quite homelike, quite unique in its nature.” 

The hospice is run out of a five-bedroom house originally constructed by a local builder to house himself and his seven children. Each bedroom has a large door to the outdoors. The name - Anam Cara - is the Gaelic phrase for “soul friend”. 

Getting started: Anam Cara Colac opened in 2012, after the local hospital underwent renovation. 

🗣️: “The hospital [in Colac] had been redeveloped and the palliative beds went into the acute ward,” Lettieri said. “It [starting Anam Cara] was a massive community initiative, one of the largest in the region at the time.” 

The facility is based on the Geelong Anam Cara House design. Diane Wright, the founder of this facility, joined efforts to set up the Colac edition. 

Why is it so important?  Lettieri said palliative care involves a huge array of supporting measures for chronic illnesses and the psychological, financial and emotional implications. 

🗣️: “Palliative care in its truest form is a model of care that spans many years, from the point of diagnosis for some folk.”

• “The relationship can span for many years. We become an extension of someone’s family. They get to know us and it’s really person-centred, really family-centred.” 

This level of care isn’t always available in a clinical environment, allowing space for a more welcoming and comfortable space for guests. 

🗣️: “We can do things that may not be achievable in a hospital environment at Anam Cara. For obvious reasons, there are tasks [in a hospital] that need to be done in certain ways and certain times. At Anam Cara, it’s more of what they want and when.” 

• “We've had everything from a christening to a bride and groom turning up [to visit a guest], a smoke ceremony. We even had a car club visit one of their members. It’s an array of things that are bespoke to that person and their needs.” 

How you can help: Non-recurrent government funds account for 15 percent of operational costs, alongside several home-care packages and NDIS programs. 

Mostly, the facility is funded through philanthropy and donations from the community. There is a current community appeal open from now until the end of the financial year, 

• “We’re not bound by geography. A lot of people leave, and then come home to die in Colac.” 

In 2025, the facility cared for just under 2,000 south-west Vic residents. To donate, you can head here. 

🗣️: “As nurses, we want to help people and make a difference and enrich their lives in a way that's really respectful.”