Santos
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.
‘This whole environment of community housing, it’s as if it’s just real estate, like proper real estate … No compassion, no love, no nothing. You know, so that’s how they treat us. We’re treated like dirt.’
Santos was badly abused as a child and teenager, and has post-traumatic stress disorder. He is in his early 40s and for the past decade or so has lived in community housing for people with disability. It is managed by a not-for-profit provider and Santos is deeply unhappy with the standard of the housing and the way it is managed.
Santos listed several issues that concern him.
‘The first point is negligence,’ he said. ‘Second point is maintenance. Third point is attitude.’
Matters are not dealt with in a timely way and it is not clear who he can turn to for help.
Santos said that for several years he had to ‘beseech’ managers to get plumbing repaired, but they ‘literally just ignored it’.
Problems with mould have also gone unaddressed for nearly half a decade. ‘So it’s spreading like wildfire,’ Santos said. ‘They don’t care.’
He feels that managers and people working at the site look down on the residents.
‘Oh, man, they hate us. They hate us so much. We’re just seen as rats. Like we’re just seen as problems. We’re just seen as battery hens. We’re seen as, “Give us your money and just shut up.” That’s the attitude. Like I’ve heard behind closed doors like when they’re at my front door, [I’ve] overhead them through the door say, “They’re all just dole bludgers, pieces of shit, ignore them.”
Santos would like to see closer regulation of community housing, to ensure standards are maintained – ‘Maybe have a government party that overseas community housing henceforth.’
Santos has the option of moving to different housing with another provider, but he has support workers he likes and doesn’t want to move away from them. For now, he has decided to stay in his present accommodation rather than risk ending up with support workers who don’t suit him as well.
He goes for walks with one of his support workers, and finds it helps his state of mind. He prefers exercise to medication.
‘Like I’d rather live in reality and find a way out than live in denial and numbness and never get out of it,’ he said.
‘I just started running, like, I’m trying to get back into it again. Sometimes I do bike riding. But at the end of the day of coming home the standard procedure is this. Lay on my bed, or just wander around the home. Look at my phone ... Every day is like a roller-coaster. I go out and feel hope, come home, dread. Go out, feel hope. Come home, dread. Repeat that for years. It’s hell.’
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.