Give the Gift of Independence, Choice and Community this Christmas

to People with a Disability

Christmas last year was a disaster for Jenni. The multiple sclerosis she had been diagnosed with 15 years earlier, hit her in its entirety on Christmas Eve. It took away her mobility and speech – and threatened to take away her three young children too.


Years earlier, when she was first diagnosed, Jenni’s relationship with her husband began to break down. Her illness and the prospect of what might lie ahead took their toll. As her marriage disintegrated, Jenni gradually became more and more isolated from friends and family.

After their third child was born, Jenni and her husband separated. Despite this heartbreaking blow, she tried to maintain her independence so that she could care for her children.

“I just loved spending time with my children, such as watching my eldest daughter play netball on a Saturday.”

But this all rapidly changed on Christmas Eve; Jenni needed help from her three children to do anything and was left with no option but to go to hospital.

While Jenni spent six long months recovering in the Latrobe Valley Hospital, her parents searched out every avenue available that would help her regain some of her independence. They didn’t want their 44 year old daughter to spend the rest of her life in a nursing home for the aged.

They found out about our new house in Moe, purpose built to meet the needs of people who are at risk of living in nursing homes, and were able to secure the final room available for Jenni.

Today she has new friends in her new housemates and our support staff. Thanks to the community environment, Jenni is involved in local life and can go out to nearby shops and cafes by herself. Most importantly, she is able to spend time with her children whenever she wants.

Our staff have arranged a sleep-over room for her children to use on weekends or whenever they visit. They also help Jenni to spend time with her children out in the community, and she can happily once again go to watch them play sport.

Jenni is now looking forward to spending Christmas with her children and parents.

“Just having family around is so precious.”

The generous donations we’ve received help to make the house Jenni lives in and the support she receives possible, and turns her family Christmas from a dream into reality.

With your donation we can give more people with a disability the opportunity to celebrate Christmas as they choose.

And that’s a gift everyone deserves.

Click here to make a donation.

Click here to leave a message of support on our website for someone like Jenni.