Kyra
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.
Kyra has an acquired brain injury and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. She also lives with chronic pain and fibromyalgia.
‘This has impacted me in many ways – I live below the poverty line on the Disability Support Pension (DSP) and I cannot work full time,’ she told the Royal Commission.
Nonetheless, Kyra was managing quite well because of hydrotherapy, and support and art programs provided by her local community mental health service.
But when COVID-19 arrived, the community health service stopped all programs and face-to-face visits.
Worse still, while under stage 3 restrictions, Kyra received an email informing her she had been ‘exited’ from the service.
‘This came as a shock. I did not request this. I was not prepared for this. It has caused me quite a lot of mental distress, including a return of self-harming and suicidal thoughts … I do not believe that any one should be exited by their mental health service, unless they request this. People should definitely not be exited during a State of Emergency.’
Kyra says the ‘language of “exiting”’ is problematic. ‘It is not uncommon that people who receive such a letter are already thinking about exiting their life, and such a letter only exacerbates such feelings.’
She also thinks her exit letter should have at least had a referral to another service. ‘I was in crisis and they assumed that I was not.’
Kyra wants to access her medical records from the service, but past experience has made her reluctant to ask.
When she was previously threatened with being exited she requested her files on multiple occasions. She was told yes, but she never received the information.
Ultimately she stopped asking because of ‘fear of retribution’.
One of Kyra’s friends was recently told she will be exited shortly. ‘She also lives with mental illness and physical disability’ and is ‘struggling like so many to just survive lockdown’.
Kyra says she is disgusted about the situation and she is concerned for others.
‘Exiting often leads to worse mental health, which from my own experience, can lead to loss of housing, work, support and family, and generally awful things.’
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.