Hi, my name is Dlanon but most of you would know me by my nickname DJ. I come from a very big family with nine children, and I have four brothers and four sisters. I am very close to my sister Justine and brother Hamish, and they help me out a lot. They are my favourites but don’t tell anyone! As you can imagine, bringing up nine of us was quite a handful for my parents and we often drove them crazy by always getting into trouble!
When I was 24 years old, I took a brave step and moved out of home. I lived by myself for about 20 years. There were good and bad points about living on my own but unfortunately, the bad points outweighed the good. I was broken into several times, I had people knocking on my door in the middle of the night, and even had my window smashed. This helped me make the decision to move in to a Community Living house provided by Crosslinks.
In 2017, I took a massive step that made me feel extremely nervous, and I moved into a Crosslinks shared home with three other men in Caversham. I had not lived with anyone for over 20 years and initially I found it difficult to share a house. I remember the move like it was yesterday. Dave from Crosslinks came to pick me up in a minivan. We had a good laugh as I had a lot more stuff than what they expected me to have, but we squeezed it all in and set off on my new adventure. We unpacked and set up my new room. I was very excited when I met my new housemates, Desmond, Phillip, and Chris.
Living in a Crosslinks Community Living home has offered me new experiences in life. I really enjoy pottering around the garden and I have started a veggie patch. I enjoy helping around the house with chores like washing dishes, preparing dinners, hanging out washing, food shopping, and cleaning the bird cage. One of my biggest achievements since moving in, is my weight loss journey. When I first moved in, I weighed about 140kg. With the right diet and lots of exercise, I have managed to lose almost half my body weight.
The most important thing in my life is my wonderful family. Some of the best memories I have is of time spent with them. Believe it or not, but I am a party animal! I love a good party, whether it be at one of my family’s homes or at my house. I love helping to fire up the BBQ and burning a few snags, taste-testing all the desserts, and having a great long chat with everyone. I would be lost without my family and the support provided by Crosslinks. They have helped make me the person I am today. I am very happy with my life and feel I am blessed with all these wonderful people around me.
