Gracelynn
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.
‘I would have loved to stay with my parents as a child but I could not. I would have loved to have my own place and choose who I live with but it is not possible now.’
‘I’d like to tell you my story,’ Gracelynn told the Royal Commission ‘of having lived in an institution and group homes for most of my life.’
Gracelynn is in her 40s and has cognitive and physical disability.
When she was five she went to live in a home that provided accommodation and education for children with disability. She didn’t want to go but her parents lived in the country and there was no school for her in the area. ‘I was very upset and I cried but I could not do anything about it.’
Gracelynn slept in a dormitory with 12 people and was made to do ‘hard and painful’ physiotherapy. Things improved when she became a teenager and had her own room. She made some very good friends but ‘it wasn’t home’.
When Gracelynn was about 18 the organisation sold the home without telling the residents. Everyone had to move and Gracelynn was separated from her friends. She didn’t want to go ‘because it was like my family’, but she said she had no choice.
Gracelynn then moved to a group home for six people. ‘It was horrible.’ Staff were bossy and residents had no choice. Everyone had to get up at the same time and go to bed at the same time. All the doors were locked. Residents couldn’t choose what to eat or when to have their meals. If they didn’t do what they were told they couldn’t go out. ‘It was like a prison,’ Gracelynn said. Some residents were aggressive – ‘it was a hard time’.
A year later Gracelynn moved to another group home and stayed there for about 15 years. It was a bit better but ‘bad sometimes’.
One day she did not want to have a shower but was forced to. ‘Three staff carried me and put me in the shower with my clothes on. It was not nice at all.’ Gracelynn didn’t think it was right but didn’t know what to do which made her feel ‘angry and upset’.
Staff forced Gracelynn to work in what she described as a ‘sheltered workshop’. She didn’t like it and doesn’t know how much she was paid.
Gracelynn now lives in a group home with three other people. It is much better but she still doesn’t get to choose who she lives with. A woman came to live in the house a few years ago and Gracelynn doesn’t like her very much because ‘she’s a bit bossy’ and ‘thinks she is my mum’. Gracelynn’s not happy but said ‘What can I do? I cannot ask her to leave.’
On the upside, staff listen to Gracelynn and she feels she has more control over what she does. ‘I go out when I want. I go to the footy and the pub.’ When it’s her turn she can choose what to eat and help prepare the meal. She uses a wheelchair and said staff are respectful when they help her with her bath and other personal care.
‘But people were not always respectful,’ she said, remembering a therapist who told her she was ‘too fat’ and could not get a new wheelchair. ‘It hurt my feelings and I cried a lot.’
Gracelynn doesn’t like having so many different staff in the house all the time. ‘They change often and I do not have a choice on who supports me,’ she said.
‘I do like my place and most of my support staff are good but not everything is perfect. It will never be home. Home is where my heart is and it will be forever with my mum and dad.’
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.