Alister
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.
Alister has an intolerance of certain sounds and vibrations.
‘I have a mental disability with sound that few, if any, people understand,’ Alister told the Royal Commission. ‘My physical and mental disabilities include hyperacusis, misophonia, misokinesia, tinnitus and phonophobia.’
Alister is in his 50s and lives in public housing.
‘Dealing with [the housing department] has just been really, really hard for them to accept the things that I go through. I don't think they take my mental disabilities seriously.’
Alister said the housing department hasn’t found him a suitable place to live in more than a decade.
‘During that time, I have been trying to impress on housing … that where I am living significantly affects my mental health, for better or worse … They have chosen properties that they have forced me to accept or that I have accepted out of desperation. This has increased my distress and trauma extremely.’
For example, the housing department offered him an apartment in which he couldn’t always shut the doors to block the sound.
‘Every morning at 5 am, firetrucks drove down the street to get a coffee at a cafe around the corner, with sounds vibrating and echoing inside the whole apartment. The neighbour above me would thump his feet when he walked, day and night. The neighbour beside me often had loud parties.’
Alister said housing department staff ‘didn’t want’ to understand his disability.
‘I've said, "Look, I've got this mental illness around sound because it makes me panic." They think, “He is just making an excuse that he wants to be in a quiet area.” And it's like, “No, you don't get it.” … It's like no-one is listening, and it just makes the mental illness worse.’
Alister said housing department staff pressure him to take unsuitable accommodation.
‘They want to force me to take it because they think it is suitable, but it's not. And then you have only got two tries … And if you get three strikes you are out, yeah? It's nothing to do with helping me, but everything to do with putting me in a box.’
Alister said the housing department needs empathetic staff.
‘They've really got to be more empathetic. If not empathetic, sympathetic. They don't have to understand it, but just respect that it is happening and go from there.’
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.