Annie and Elaine
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.
Annie was a First Nations woman in her 40s living with anorexia, anxiety and a psychosocial disorder.
Her mother, Elaine, said that Annie died ‘alone in a unit for homeless people’. She doesn’t know why.
‘This is difficult to write, but my daughter’s life had meaning even if only to her family and I am compelled to do this submission,’ Elaine told the Royal Commission.
Annie had lived with psychosocial disabilities since she was a teenager.
‘This has brutally impacted on her life in every situation. Her self-esteem and confidence were eroded. The anxiety stopped her in her tracks and she never achieved her potential.’
Elaine said Annie would stay in her room for months, leaving only to ‘go to the doctor to get more pills to tide her over the next two weeks of misery’.
‘I won’t dwell too much on the multiple decades she was just plied with multiple psychiatric medications.’
The drugs didn’t seem to help.
‘If these were not helping over the many years she was treated, why did the same treatment continue? Why wasn’t [Annie] pushed to attend therapy instead of just medicated?’
Elaine said that even though Annie received a Disability Support Pension and had ‘multiple psychiatric diagnoses’, she was never enrolled in the NDIS.
‘I believe if this had been done my child, my daughter would be here today and in a much better place than where she had landed prior to her passing.’
Elaine tried for years to support Annie. ‘As her mother I looked for solutions.’
She bought Annie an apartment but struggled to pay the mortgage when, during ‘a psychotic phase’, Annie refused to pay rent.
‘The advice to evict her was from a psychologist whom I was seeing … “Put her out,” they said. “Let her learn to fend for herself.” I was terrified to do this, but trusted the advice from the psychologist and made Annie leave.’
Elaine said a government department moved Annie into a unit ‘an hour away from the area she had lived all her life’. That’s where Annie died. An autopsy failed to reveal the cause of her death.
‘I am sad to say that I never found the help my daughter needed and today I only have memories and pictures.’
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.