House with No Steps (now Aruma) meets the Newcastle Knights

Residents of Hunter Region’s Lowan Close Group Home have had an amazing year getting up close and personal with their idols, the Newcastle Knights.

In the past, die hard Knights fans Kayleen and Julie had to miss out on games because they didn’t have the support they needed to attend. This all changed when the ladies received their National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) funding and the support they needed to attend the games and be part of the cheering crowd.

Through the staff matching tool, the ladies were able to choose their support staff and naturally chose people with a similar passion for the Knights.

Kayleen and Julie bought season passes to all the home games and are supported to attend by Tracey and Gadjet. Tracey says that going to the games has been a great way for the ladies to participate in the community and gives them something to look forward to.

“You can see the smiles on their faces and they talk about it for days and days”, she said.

Lucky for Kayleen and Julie, Tracey had a personal connection with the Knights and having been touched by their story, they were given an opportunity to meet the players after one of their training sessions.

Not only were they able to take photos with the team, they were also invited into the tunnel as the players ran onto the field for the ‘Rise for Alex’ game on 8th July 2014.

It was an incredibly exciting day and the ladies are already looking forward to next season.