Dixon
Content Warning: These stories are about violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation and may include references to suicide or self-harming behaviours. They may contain graphic descriptions and strong language and may be distressing. Some narratives may be about First Nations people who have passed away. If you need support, please see Contact & support.
Dixon, mid-30s, was born with a hearing impairment. He has post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety.
Dixon told the Royal Commission that he has been homeless, on and off, since he was a teenager, making it difficult to apply for the Disability Support Pension (DSP) or JobSeeker allowance.
He said he applied for the DSP 15 times before he was successful.
About four years ago Dixon was living in his car. Suddenly, he couldn’t urinate.
‘The pain is so awful, it's still excruciating every day.’
Dixon was admitted to hospital but ‘still hasn’t got proper answers for it’.
Doctors inserted a permanent catheter.
‘I gotta have things like catheter tubes, catheter bags, like all the cleaning products.’
When he is homeless, Dixon has to change his catheter in public toilets.
During COVID-19, the council shut the public toilets and Dixon had nowhere to go.
‘It was getting real bad for me. I had a tube coming out of my belly from the hospital doing the wrong procedure, and every public toilet in Australia was shut.’
Dixon’s health deteriorated.
‘I could barely walk up the street without, like, almost fainting.’
One day Dixon collapsed while out in the community. When he explained his situation to the people who came to his aid, they found him emergency accommodation.
A month later the public housing agency told Dixon they had a property for him. He couldn’t inspect it because of the COVID-restrictions. The property was a ‘six-hour roundtrip’ from Dixon’s GP, the hospital and his mum. He didn’t know anyone nearby and felt the area was unsafe.
‘They basically didn't give me a chance to give them a list for my needs or what areas [I wanted to live] or anything. It was basically like, “Oh, you know, you're lucky we're even doing this for you.”’
Dixon said his new neighbours are very violent.
‘I've been bashed by them, I've been robbed by them.’
He has made complaints but that has made things worse.
The neighbours broke his windows which took more than a week to fix.
‘I've got like hundreds of hours of recordings of them like smashing, bashing.’
Dixon has given up hope about his housing situation.
‘A lot of people would not have survived this. I'm only lucky I did have a sort of rough upbringing, I have managed to handle it. But look, so many people wouldn't, would've taken their life by now.’
Disclaimer: This is the story of a person who shared their personal experience with the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability through a submission or private session. The names in this story are pseudonyms. The person who shared this experience was not a witness and their account is not evidence. They did not take an oath or affirmation before providing the story. Nothing in this story constitutes a finding of the Royal Commission. Any views expressed are those of the person who shared their experience, not of the Royal Commission.