The Kotuku Trust, which is the governing entity for A Supported Life was incorporated as a Charitable Trust in December 1995 and began service support in February 1996 starting with two houses and seven residents with an intellectual challenge. The Trust was a co-operative venture between the current General Manager and the parents of the first residents who found themselves displaced when their then service provider ceased operation.
In early 1998 the Trust realised the second stage of its strategic plan - that of developing a supported living service for people choosing to live in shared houses and flats with dedicated support. Since then A Supported Life has grown to encompass fifteen houses and flats of which seven are part of the fully staffed Residential Support and Guidance Service.
From inception ASL built links with the local tertiary educational institute Unitec, with many of the residents attending and graduating from their Foundation Skills program. Additional to this was the accessing of support services from the work brokerage service Polyemp. Connecting with Polyemp and other work brokerage agencies has meant currently some 22 persons are in full and part-time open employment in a wide range of vocations.
From 1996 until 2002, A Supported Life ran its own day service to provide education and community inclusion activities for those not in other education and employment options. In 2002 ASL formed a partnership with another local provider organisation to create F.E.A.T. (Further Education and Training) which offered a wider range of programs with a highly effective arts based program. This saw participants win national awards for artistic endeavours and initiate the highly regarded ASDAN educational modules. By 2007 ASL was ready to develop a new innovative community inclusion service and F.E.A.T. transformed into Way Out West – Community Inclusion Support with an enhanced focus on community interdependence, volunteering and self advocacy.
From 3 staff and 2 houses in 1996, A Supported Life now has 30 full and part time highly skilled staff, including university graduate expertise in behaviour management, counselling and staff training.