Spencer
Jasmine, Emu Plains
Spencer was the first person to move into Jasmine, where he now calls home. He’s always up for a chat, and has endless stories about his adventures, the barbecue and his mates.
Meet Spencer, the first person to move into the Jasmine home in Emu Plains.
“He stays up past midnight sometimes drawing these characters. He even creates his own movies,” recounting Valentyna, Spencer’s key worker.
“I keep it in a blue bin in my room. Let me go get it,” Spencer said.
Bringing a small blue bin to the kitchen table, he tips it out to reveal cut out figures drawn in pencil of different characters, including Wilson and Tim from Home Improvement. There were many figures and, most prominently, he had countless versions of his muse, Amy from Futurama, some replicated and others his original designs.
Spencer pulls out his phone to show one of the movies he’s made. It features multiple versions of Amy he’s drawn and a single voice actor for all the characters—himself. The video is an hour long, and Spencer recites along as the video plays, beaming with pride.
Moving out of home for the first time is a different experience for everyone—exciting, thrilling or even a little daunting.
Having lived in the area for most of his life, his new home felt familiar.
In Emu Plains, there’s plenty of places to go, especially parks and reserves. During his first week at Jasmine, Spencer, with one bread roll in hand, visited a small lake to feed some ducks.
In the following months, Spencer continued returning to the lake, each time with more bread. During his later visits, as he walked towards the water, a team of ducks swam quickly towards him as if they recognised him.
“There was a really big duck that day,” Spencer said, pointing to the photo of him with a bag of bread and a large, white duck in front of him.
When Spencer isn’t crafting his works, he’s always kept busy when he’s going for a cruise in the van or hanging out with his friends.
“He stays up past midnight sometimes drawing these characters. He even creates his own movies.”
Spencer is a person who knows what he wants and likes taking initiative, whether it be buying an extra gift for himself for Christmas or looking after the barbecue.
He’s king of the barbeque. At any gathering, you’ll find him with the tongs preparing food for everyone or giving someone guidance on how to best cook the food.
When Spencer isn’t at home drawing or manning the barbecue, he loves going out. He speaks fondly of his support workers, recounting the time he was walking along the beach with Nick or in the Kia, cruising around the neighbourhood. He frequently mentions his good friend Alex who lives around the corner from him, recalling the time he was dancing with his friends at the monthly disco, and his mates from Jacaranda.
Scrolling through the gallery on his phone, Spencer reflects on the times he’s had at Jasmine since moving in July last year. Prior to permanently moving into Jasmine, Spencer spent some time at another Forsight home—Jacaranda.
As he flips through, a picture of a man in a party hat and a can of Coca Cola in his hand appears, and Spencer immediately stops.
“Matthew loves coke. He’s pretty funny.”
“Barbara’s wearing a hat too.”
Spencer has become close with a lot of his friends at Jacaranda and often visits.
From being the only person living at Jasmine to now living with two other roommates, Spencer feels he has settled in well into his new home at Jasmine.
His goal for the year now is to get a job so he can earn money for himself.