There are common images evoked when thinking about what it feels like for most young adults to enjoy the early steps to independence. There is an innocent excitement in trying new things mixed with the uncomfortable trials of new responsibilities.

Coming-of-age is about the joy of going out with new friends, learning new ways to live, travelling, and celebrating newfound freedom and an evolving sense of self.

For many, these experiences are a right of passage. An expectation that everyone deserves. It’s on this premise that Luke Muttdon and Bronte Hendricks founded Stellar Experiences.

When working together at a disability service provider some years back, Luke and Bronte lamented the lacklustre stories told time and time again by their young adult clients about their weekends.

“There are a lot of young people with mild or moderate disabilities who feel really independent but at times they might struggle to fit into everyday life. They also don’t feel like they fit into other disability service providers.”

“Many can be anxious or lack the confidence to go out and meet new people and enjoy many things most people take for granted,” continued Luke. “Bronte and I wanted to change that.”

So Stellar Experiences was born. It’s a unique idea that opened in Sydney and the Illawarra in 2019, which in a few short years has expanded into QLD and the ACT, embraced by hundreds of families.

Stellar Experiences is a supported social outings and travel company that Luke says aims to break down the stigma surrounding disabilities, advocate for inclusion, and empower and support people to live the life of their choosing.

People between 16 to 35 years old with mild to moderate disabilities can every week pick and choose from many different supported social outings, life skills programs, inclusive sports and overnight experiences.

The Illawarra have a large number of guests who regularly attend their service and there are over 500 guests across the three states who have been involved over the last few years.

“We started small,” said Luke. “With volunteer support staff we started with social outings early on including music festivals and sporting events. It was after we took a group of guests skydiving that we started to separate ourselves from other disability services.

“From there we put on a couple of support workers and started providing 1 to 1 support, life skills programs, overnight travel experiences and even entered teams in the local mainstream Oztag and indoor soccer competitions.”

Out and about with the community
“In the Illawarra we run social outings every weekend, including Friday social nights every week at our Shell Cove HQ. There may be a pizza and footy theme one Friday and a karaoke evening the next week.

“Our guests love community-based experiences as well. We participate in a wide range of activities, spanning from concerts to footy games. In the summer months, we organise surf lessons and outings to race days. The possibilities are endless.

“We’ve had some great local businesses get behind us which is very beneficial,” continued Luke. “The Dragons have supported us with season tickets for home games. Local establishments like The Illawarra Hotel are very accommodating,” said Luke. “They know us by name and always go above and beyond for our guests.”

Help to live independently

“Most of our guests have goals to become more independent so we offer things like a cooking and nutrition program, travel training, wellbeing workshops and many more capacity building activities.

“We took up a group to Grill’d restaurant in Miranda recently where the trained chefs took them through making burgers and how to cook a meal for their family. That experience in a commercial kitchen was so beneficial to our guests.

“Our Shell Cove HQ is also a multi-purpose facility with a large kitchen, showers, a barbeque and four bedrooms upstairs. We run a program called Stellar Stays where our guests get to experience what it’s like to live out of home independently. They learn all about independent living skills, health and wellbeing, financial literacy, social connection and gaining a sense of identity.

“All our guests have different hobbies, interests, and goals, so we’ve tried to provide as many different opportunities as we can, in an easy to book system.”

Stellar friends and beyond 

“We take great pride in being role models and having support available to facilitate conversations between guests, model pro-social behaviour and help create a fun, safe environment for them to create long lasting friendships,” continued Luke.

“We have been lucky enough to see plenty of friendships meet and flourish through Stellar, including a group of four young guys in their early 20s who met through Stellar and recently got matching tattoos together.”

An easy first step for newcomers

“It’s easy to get started,” said Luke. “There’s a short application form where we gather information, including medical requirements, support needs, and hobbies and interests. From there we’ll set up a guest profile, provide you with all the necessary information, then you are free to book into any of our experiences.”

“We utilise NDIS funding for the support through self or plan managed plans. Some of our experiences also include an out of pocket cost, which is just the cost of the activity, for example the ticket for a show.”

So much to do with a bright future ahead

“It never stops,” continued Luke. “We have our 5-year party in a few weeks, a few more big overseas trips to Fiji, USA and Europe, and plenty of amazing social outings.

“We are passionate believers that there is no limit to what our guests can achieve and we love being there to support some very deserving young people to live the life they choose.”

Follow Stellar Experiences at @stellar.experiences or visit stellarexperiences.com.au/illawarra