Kistie’s self-managed story

Kistie has a wonderful bubbly personality, a great sense of humour and loves horses. She has been receiving support from House with No Steps (Aruma) since she was 18 years old. Over the years, Kistie has blossomed into a confident and independent 34 year old woman and found herself wanting more flexibility and control over her life.

To do this, we supported Kistie to move to a self-managed package. Kistie’s Mum Lyn said, “We chose a self-managed package because it allowed her to have the life that she wanted”. Kistie now decides how she spends her days and is able to choose activities that interest her. “She has the freedom to do what she wants”, continued Lyn.

Through her self-managed package, Kistie has started volunteering at her local Vinnies store and absolutely loves it. “I like working at Vinnies because I do the shoes and the bags, put the bags on the shelves and put the shoes in the right place”, said Kistie.

She has also been working at a local café, Alexander’s, taking orders and making sandwiches. “She has picked everything up really quickly and the customers love Kistie. Kistie definitely has a lot of fun here and we have fun with her”, said Chase, owner of Alexander’s Café.

One of Kistie’s favourite activities is horse riding. She enjoys riding, feeding and brushing the horses and also helps with cleaning their stables. Her confidence has really grown since going to Pony Pals. “It was amazing to see her start from being very hesitant around horses to being a very confident rider”, said Alison, owner of Pony Pals.

“Horse riding has really given her a lift in life. She loves looking after the horses and she’s excelled at the riding. She’s learning everyday, every time she goes”, said Lyn.

A self-managed package has really opened Kistie up to new experiences and she is enjoying every second of life.