Clay
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 feel as though I live in a prison in my own home. I am too scared to leave. I only leave the house for essential items, or to [go to] medical appointments.’
Clay has disabilities that include severe post-traumatic stress disorder. For the past 20 years or so he has been living in government-funded social housing. For most of that time he lived happily in a ‘supportive, friendly community’. Clay told the Royal Commission this changed about five years ago when a neighbour became abusive.
One day the neighbour violently assaulted Clay, resulting in a fractured nose and hand, broken ribs and cuts to his head. The police took Clay to the emergency department and he was hospitalised for six days. Clay said, ‘I was terrified to have to return home because I knew that [the neighbour] was still residing next door’.
After being discharged from the hospital, Clay contacted the housing authority to report the assault and request that the neighbour be evicted or relocated because of his ‘violent and criminal behaviour’.
An officer of the agency told Clay he had spoken with the neighbour, who assured him ‘it wouldn’t happen again’. He told Clay no further action would be taken.
But the neighbour’s threatening behaviour did not stop. He continues to ‘threaten and taunt’ Clay on a regular basis.
‘On one recent, bizarre occasion, [the neighbour] intimidated me whilst I was headed to the local supermarket. He stood near the entrance of the store, next to his motorbike, and whilst looking at me he made aggressive, guttural noises to intimidate me. He seemed completely unhinged … I was so scared that I went straight home and … did not leave my house for three days.’
Clay has provided the housing authority with statements he made to the police about the original attack. Clay’s psychologist has written to the housing authority about Clay’s PTSD, the ‘severe mental anguish’ the attack caused, and that he continues to feel unsafe and fearful in his home. However, the housing authority still refuses to do anything.
‘[They] have neglected to do anything to resolve a situation where a person, under their care in the public housing system, with documented mental health conditions, lives in constant fear of serious violence … there is something seriously wrong with the way that [they] treat their tenants with disabilities.
‘This is neglect.’
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.