Leonie and Renee
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.
Renee is a First Nations woman and aunt of Leonie, who has cognitive impairment. Leonie can’t talk, needs a lot of support and lives in a group home in the city.
‘We'd go down, visit her. Every Christmas, birthday, we'd pick her up. But as she got older, she was a little bit more difficult … She was always having injuries and things.’
About 15 years ago, Leonie spilled a cup of tea, severely injuring her legs.
‘That was a boiling hot cup of tea. What did they do? It was just wipe her down with a wet towel … They did not even look at her, do anything, until another worker came in the next day or whatever, and [Leonie's] leg was stuck together.’
Renee was teaching in a remote area at the time. Because Leonie’s mother ‘didn’t know about guardianships’, Renee applied for and was granted guardianship of Leonie.
‘I'd come back and look after their kids and look after [Leonie]. Then I'd go and work again.’
Leonie’s family is large and very close.
‘I don't sleep,’ Renee told the Royal Commission. ‘What's involved now is, [Leonie's] got nieces and nephews – she's a granny, you know – and as soon as I go anywhere they ring me up, "[Renee] …?" So, I've got to drop that and go help the family again, you know. All these people that I've got to deal with. And I just don't say no, because that's how we are, family.’
Several years ago, the manager of Leonie’s group home sent her to respite care in a house with four men for several weeks.
‘When I went there, she was in the home with non-Aboriginal men, and I said, "I don't want her there.”’
The service provider then sent Leonie to a nearby caravan park. But when Renee visited her a few days later, she discovered signs that Leonie had been assaulted while in respite care.
‘When I had a look, she had a bite mark on her breast which was five centimetres. And they said it was self-inflicted. Self-inflicted?’
Renee reported it to the police.
‘I had photographs and doctors’ reports and everything, but … as soon as the investigation was over, they sent a letter to the [service provider’s manager] and he said they couldn't be identified, they couldn't lay any charges.
‘It hurts … Now, she can't talk. She's non-verbal. So, that hurt not only us, but our whole family.’
Leonie spent four weeks in the caravan park before returning to the group home. Two weeks later, she slipped getting out of the shower and broke her ankle.
‘So, then I had to go through the process again of putting the complaint in.’
Another time, Renee checked Leonie’s account and found the service provider had overcharged her rent by thousands of dollars.
‘Took a month to put that extra money back again.’
Renee said the service provider has improved in the past few years.
‘There's been a lot of changes, a lot of staff isn't there. [Leonie] is quite happy there … We've got a good relationship with the people 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.