Dee - Participant Family Member

My brother-in-law has been supported by Aura for a few years now. Before partnering with Aura, he had been supported by another long- standing organisation for his entire life (45+ years). It was not conceivable that we would switch supports until I heard about Aura, through a connection. 

From the moment we had our first meeting with Gill, a manager with Aura, we knew this was the new place for Chris. I remember having the overwhelming understanding of Aura wanting to ‘share’ this journey with us – to share the love, the responsibility, the decisions, the burden we had always had. It was like our family had just grown and we had invited a new group of people to share Chris’s life with. 

From the very beginning, it was Aura’s mission to give Chris his voice and as much control as possible over his own decisions. In doing this, Aura gave Chris opportunities he had never experienced before. He started REALLY living life the way he wanted. He joined a choir, became a valuable member of a church community, started attending football games, started meal planning, shopping and cooking with his support workers and Aura helped make his house his home, adding family photos, furniture pieces and assistive household tools to make it more comfortable and increase Chris’s capability and independence in his home. 

The communication between Aura and our family is thorough and reliable. Nothing is ever too hard for Aura and they are so responsive to our questions, requests and concerns. Gill and the team help us on so many levels, whole-heartedly so we are never left alone to try and work things out. To know that we share this load with the special people from Aura, gives us such a sense of safety and relief. 

Not long after Chris was being supported by Aura, we noticed a positive change in his behaviours. His anxiety greatly reduced, he started sleeping more, he displayed no aggressive behaviours, and he was so much more happy and relaxed. 

The community events that Aura regularly put on are a highlight of our calendar. We have been to a number of Christmas, Easter and Disco celebrations involving dancing, singing, Bingo and games. These events are incredibly generous, providing food, entertainment and gifts which mean so much to families. 

We were incredibly blessed to hear about Aura and have continued to be blessed by them time after time. Aura is not an organisation but an extension of our family which we are so lucky to have. To say they go above and beyond is an understatement. Life is so much brighter now Chris is with Aura.