Ari
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.
Ari has been employed as a disability support worker for more than eight years. He told the Royal Commission that three of the organisations he has worked for in this time have been neglecting and abusing their young clients in a variety of ways, including using restrictive practices, limiting access to food and ‘using the kids as cash cows’.
‘I have seen one young guy 14 years of age allowed to play Xbox Live online … all while he sits on a urine-soaked couch all day. I have witnessed companies feeding kids in care junk food as a way of shutting them up and not cooking proper meals and I have seen an over use of computer games.’
Ari says he has seen children ultimately become violent offenders as a result of the mistreatment and neglect they have experienced in residential facilities.
‘There is a growing number of kids becoming violent and being swapped from provider to provider … The kids gradually get more violent and bigger and stronger and nothing is done … I have seen clients get stronger and stronger medication doses and break things, smash cars, windows, TVs, and no action [is taken].
‘They replace these items over and over and say “all good”. There is no system in place to actually help these kids and support … it’s just a patch up job ...’
Ari believes the system is ‘broken’ and that big companies ‘target’ child cases to ‘get millions in payments’. ‘They do it not for the child but for the money.’
‘There are organisations that buy a house, call themselves a respite place and break all the rules … There are companies hiring staff with no police checks and they are working with no checks.’
Ari says we need a plan to help fix this problem, ‘not pay out millions to hide the fact these kids are broken and should be getting help’.
‘To be honest the system is broken really bad to the extent it’s now an industry that has a high turnover and … if a staff member wants to complain, as most are casual you lose those hours and they replace you with someone that won’t have a voice.’
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.