Alonzo

About 20 years ago, Alonzo crashed his motorbike and injured his spinal cord. He now has paraplegia and uses a wheelchair.

His employer at the time supported him.

‘They stood at the end of the bed after my accident and said in front of my family, like my mum and dad, that no matter what happened, I would always have a job. And they were actually true to their word.’

Alonzo told the Royal Commission that before his accident he treated people with disability differently.

‘If I saw somebody with a disability, I didn’t know how to talk to them. I thought they were somebody different and I thought, well, you know, I’m a caring kind of person, I didn’t want to say the wrong thing.’

After the accident, he learnt what that was like.

‘My wife used to wheel me around the place, people would just look straight over my head and say, “What does he want?” and she’d said, “Why don’t you ask him? He’s got a brain, you know.” Then she’d force them to talk to me. But most of the time, they would just think, “Oh, he’s in a wheelchair, he must have some sort of intellectual disability.”’

After a few years, Alonzo’s employer closed its office and he was out of a job. He volunteered for a number of organisations involved in youth justice and disability services, as well as with the police.

One day, Alonzo was driving his modified car when a police officer pulled him over.

‘The officer said, “One of your lights isn’t working.” He said, “Come out here and I’ll show you.” I said, “Well, I’ve just got to get my crutches.” So, I reached around behind my seat to grab my crutches and the next minute he’s dragged me out of the car. He’s kicking the crap out of me on the side of the road.’

Alonzo said the officer told him to get up.

‘I said, “I can’t.” And he said, “What do you mean you can’t?” I said, “I’m a paraplegic,” and he said, “Crap. I don’t believe you.”’

Alonzo told him to look at the wheelchair in the back of the car.

‘He looked down and said, “I’ve stuffed up, haven’t I?” I said, “Yes, you’ve stuffed up.” I said, “But I’ll forgot about it if you forget about it,” and he just got in his car and drove off.’

Alonzo said he has since spoken to the officer and decided not to pursue the matter. ‘[I] didn’t want to ruin the man’s career because, you know, I think he needs help.’

Alonzo told the Royal Commission that police and government officials need training to better understand people with disability, especially psychosocial disability.

Alonzo said he once worked as a volunteer with a young man who’d been either in jail or ‘on the streets’ for 15 years. ‘He was … tired of it. He was dealing with schizophrenia [and] everyone was scared of him because he was such a big guy.’

No emergency accommodation provider would take him in, so Alonzo helped him find a place to live.

‘Housing didn’t want to know him, so I said to him, “Well, look, we’ve got to prove … that you can be responsible.” I was just honest with him, you know, and that’s all he wanted. People had been, you know, telling him crap his whole life.’

Alonzo helped him prove to the government housing authority that he is a reliable tenant.

‘He was a neat freak … in the end they gave him a brand-new unit … so, yeah, he had every ability to be able to look after his problem even with his disability.’