Whether he’s sitting and chatting to aged care residents or fighting raging bushfires, for Craig Miller the goal is the same – care for his community.
Between his shifts at Bendigo Health’s Carshalton House, Craig dons his CFA roll out gear as a Lieutenant in the Inglewood Fire Brigade, something he’s done for a decade.
“As soon as I moved to town, I knew I wanted to be part of the community in that way,” he said.
“It’s been one of the best things I’ve done.”
After working in disability services, Craig moved into aged care and has worked at Carshalton House as a Health Care Assistant for 14 years.
In that time, he has made a reputation for himself.
“I think I’m noiser than professionally required,” he said.
“I’ll go away for a bit and people will say they knew I was gone because they said it was quiet around here.”
But for Craig, he wouldn’t have it any other way.
For him, working in aged care means he is able to support the resident’s mental wellbeing as well as their physical health.
“You have the ability to make someone’s day, if I can make them smile or have a bit of a joke… It’s all about the little things,” he said.
“I could go drive a truck instead, but it wouldn’t be as rewarding.”
Craig said his managers and fellow staff were always very supportive of his need to give back to the CFA, often allowing him to change shifts in a short period of time.
This was particularly important when he left for multiple deployments across Victoria and New South Wales during the 2019/20 bushfires.
“The first time I was called out, I was literally walking into the building for a shift,” Craig said.
“I am so appreciative of the fact that people were able to move their shifts around and pick up the ones I now couldn’t do.
“It such short notice, but I was really supported.”
Craig and his crew travelled to places like Singleton, Port Macquarie Bateman’s Bay and Mount Hotham for days at a time, trying their best to safe properties and people.
And while that work can take a mental and physical toll on someone, he said one of the things that sticks with him the most is the generosity from locals.
“You have people who have lost everything still showing gratitude and giving back to you,” Craig said.
“We had Lions Clubs cooking us breakfast, we were put up in student accommodation, we met so many primary school students.
“The job isn’t all about fighting fires, it’s about community engagement.”
It’s this philosophy he brings back to his work in Bendigo too.
“Communication and compassion are interchangeable,” Craig said.
“Taking that extra time to sit with someone in an aged care dining room or giving the teddies to children in the back of a fire truck, it can make a whole world of difference.”
It was this hard work and dedication that lead to Craig receiving the National Emergency Medal as a recognition of service to the community during that bushfire season.
“It was an honour,” he said.
“You don’t do it for the recognition, but it means the world when it’s something you live to do.”
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