Damian’s story

Hi – I am Damian and I would like to share with you how life has been for me since I moved to receive facilitation from ConneXu.

My Dad drove me to my home in Te Awamutu in June 2011. I will never forget this day as I was anxious and scared. I had lived in some unsuccessful living environments where things became too much for me so I would abscond – sometimes walking many kilometres on rural roads in the dark. When Dad told me that I was moving I was worried and scared – I thought that this was going to be just another one! I arrived at my new home, and was greeted by a number of people, including my new flatmates. I immediately had input in to the decisions and choices as to how I wanted my life to look – what I wanted to do during the day, what I wanted to eat and how I wanted my bedroom to look.

Due to my needs, all of my Community Facilitators were males. When things became too much – I would walk away, some days walking for many kilometres. The staff at ConneXu supported me to develop coping strategies which included deep breathing, scripts and the people from ConneXu were never far behind me. They reassured me and empowered me to talk about why I was anxious, and they always aided me to solve my problems.

I now have the skills to cope when I feel anxious, and no longer feel that I need to abscond and go for long walks. I have paid employment and am in the process of setting up my own Micro Enterprise.

“I am confident and enjoy telling others how much ConneXu have empowered me!”