6 minute read
Turning Pain to Purpose: Frontida Community Living, LLC
BY CYNTHIA SIBANDA RN, BSN, CEO
MY NAME IS CYNTHIA SIBANDA. I am a wife, mother of five and the owner of Frontida Community Living, LLC. When I first began my journey in healthcare, I worked for 10 years as a Direct Support Caregiver or Certified Nurse’s Assistant (CNA) for a company that supports individuals with Developmental Disabilities and really enjoyed the experience. Unfortunately, I was in an abusive marriage at that time, and it ended in a traumatic divorce. I had no choice but to pick up the pieces and whatever little strength I had to take care of my 3 girls. I went back to college and became a registered nurse in the State of Indiana. I have been a nurse for the past 16 years and counting. My career in nursing has been very rewarding and l got the opportunity M
At the time of my divorce, I left the marriage with nothing but my children. I didn’t want to be caught up in a fight with my ex-husband as I was very intimidated by him. Years later I was trying to purchase a house for my children and l, and I was informed that I could not because the home I once shared with my ex-husband was showing up on my credit as being late in payments and going into foreclosure. It was a shock to me because my ex-husband was financially stable and had always handled financial matters in our marriage! I had not talked to my ex-husband in a long time, because he had made it clear that though we had shared custody of our children, he did not want anything to do with them. I tried to reach out to him on the phone to get some answers and he told me that he had moved on with his life and he couldn’t pay bills where he was and at the house as well. I went by the house and l was mortified at the state the house was in. It was in disrepair and looked like no one had lived in it for years. The walls and floors had molded due to water collecting under the house from a malfunctioning sump pump. A big tree in the yard had fallen on the house and was just laying there. As much as I didn’t want to be involved, I could not let the house go into foreclosure because I was trying to purchase my own home at the time, so I had to step in and fix the mess he had left behind. I did a whole rehab job on the house and got the payments caught up while in the meantime trying to take care of our living expenses across town. I had no funding to do the rehab work. It was painfully accomplished, one paycheck at a time and it almost took the life out of me. But l had a dream to buy a home for my children, I could not give up.
In 2019, my children and I moved into our new home. It is the very home that we live in to this day. After signing the mortgage papers, any normal person would have sold the old home. We surely didn’t need it anymore. I had achieved the goal for my children. Why not get rid of the bad memories, the bad energy? For some odd reason, I could not bring myself to let the house go. It was a part of me. It told my story. Through my experience l came to understand that there are people in society who have disabilities that we can see, but most of us our disabilities are not visible or tangible. Our disabilities are emotional because of the things that we have gone through. At the end of the day, there is no handicap that is better or easier than the other. However, I chose to use my disability to empower me to be more compassionate, to have the gift of listening to other people’s pain, and the ability to pause and pay attention. l owe it all to the journey l have been on in this life.
Frontida Community Living, LLC is approved to provide services under the Indiana Medicaid Home and Community – Based Services Waiver Program. We are a new BDS waiver provider-meaning your loved ones will get more attention and the best care. Frontida Community Living LLC has achieved Systems Accreditation through the Centers of Quality Leadership (CQL). We provide services to adults with developmental disabilities that help them to live meaningful, fulfilled lives in their communities. We provide housing and we can also provide care in the comfort of your own home. We want to know what your dreams and aspirations are and help you to achieve those goals. It is our desire to also help individuals with disabilities to be connected with family, friends and other people in the community and keep you active in your community. We not only want you to live, but we also want you to thrive. We have excellent caregivers waiting to care for you, and we are also flexible if you already have your own caregiver who is willing to join our team.
If you are looking for a place where your loved one can feel at home, receive the best care, we’d love to hear from you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to schedule a tour or to learn more about our services and together we can come up with a plan that works for you. I can be reached at (463)309-1006 or email me at csibanda@FrontidaCommunityLiving. com. Thank you in advance for the opportunity to serve you.
