Meet Raelene, a die-hard Princess Diana fan and dog lover who found her home in Supported Independent Living.
Everyone has their own unique story to tell - today, meet Raelene.
“I'm Raelene, I'm fifty-two and I love having support from my best support workers Sharon, Vino and Lesila. I love doing scrapbooking. I'm a princess Diana fan and a princess Mary fan. I like Princess Diana because she reminds me of me, always caring and liked to help people.”
Raelene found a place to call home in one of Life Without Barriers’ Supported Independent Living houses in the Hunter region, NSW.
“I'm luckier than others because I've got a house to live in. I feel sorry for all the homeless people out there because I've been through it and that makes me sort of sad. I'm settled here, it's close to the shops where I can walk down if I want. I've got my freedom,” she said.
“This is my forever home. I'm not shifting anymore.”
Over the last seven years, Raelene has formed a strong relationship with her support worker Sharon.
“Every Monday night my auntie messages me ‘what are you and Sharon going to do tomorrow?’ and it's like I can't wait you know; I send that message back ‘I can't wait!' I'm always up ready for Sharon and we decide what we're going to do,” she said.
With the aid of those around her, Raelene is able to have control over her life and feels safe and supported at home.
“The older I get, because I got sciatic nerve damage with diabetes, complications do set in and that's why I try to keep the anxiety under control. So, we need support and it's always knowing that there's someone there if anything happens. Like Vino says to me ‘anything happens just wake me up you know if you're not feeling well’ she says that to everybody and the same with Lesila, she'll knock on the door and asks ‘are you alright?’ and that's really, really good,” Raelene shared.
When asked what her goals for the future are, Raelene said “My goal is to try and get homeless people off the street and help people with cancer and to get a dog.”
Being a part of Raelene’s story has been amazing and we are so happy that she has found her forever home with Life Without Barriers.
Watch Raelene’s story
A persons' story is precious. We take story telling seriously. Sometimes people are able to tell their own story and we love that. Sometimes they ask us to tell their story for them. We always make sure they give us their ok and we will always honour the trust placed in us to bring their story forward.
