Dewi
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.
Dewi, mid-40s, has physical disability and uses mobility aids.
He lives in a supported residential service (SRS) with around 20 other people.
Dewi told the Royal Commission the SRS provides accommodation, meals and a laundry service in exchange for about 90 per cent of his Disability Support Pension.
‘When I first moved in, there was mice shit and rat shit … I didn't even have a bathroom vanity. The toilet leaked nonstop to where it flooded all the time, same as the shower. I had to have a heater on all the time just to keep it dry until I tried to silicon underneath it, around the toilet. They didn’t like that. I didn't have a lock on the door. You could use any key to open my door.’
Meals are served in a common dining room at a set time. They are ‘absolutely putrid’.
Dewi’s laundry is always returned damp and items go missing.
‘It's meant to come back all folded and ready to put it all away but they just put it in garbage bags and throw in your room.’
Not long ago, the manager of the SRS set up her own NDIS accredited company. She told Dewi he had to sign up because ‘she signed everybody else up’.
Dewi refused. He had fixed his room up and was happy with the way things were.
The manager got quite angry.
‘When I didn't sign the piece of paper she said, “Go pack your bags, you're leaving.”’
Dewi refused to leave so the manager called police.
When police arrived, Dewi was on the phone to a family member who is a disability advocate.
She told police they couldn’t evict a person with disability from an SRS without an order from the state administrative tribunal.
As police were leaving, Dewi overheard them talking to the manager.
‘Police said, “You can make up a story and get a fake intervention order out on him and get him out that way.”’
Dewi left his room to go and get some food.
When he returned the manager prevented him accessing his room.
Dewi got upset.
Police returned and told Dewi the manager had accused him of being aggressive and wanted him to leave.
They suggested he come with them to the police station and they would help him find accommodation while the administrative tribunal sorted out the matter.
Dewi waited at the station and ‘had to sleep in the foyer on the chairs’.
The next day different police officers swore at him, called him names and chucked him out.
Dewi went back to the SRS. He couldn’t get into his room to get his things, including his crutches and knee brace. He spent the next few days homeless until family members could travel and take him to his parents.
A few months later, the administrative tribunal reversed the decision to evict him.
Dewi returned to the SRS.
He discovered his room had been rented the day after he was evicted. His belongings had been placed in garbage bags outside. Many items including his watch were missing.
The manager of the SRS gave Dewi a bill for tens of thousands of dollars for meals and laundry that were previously part of his board and lodging.
‘I've been told the debt collectors were coming after me.’
The manager refuses to do anything for Dewi until he pays his bill and gives her access to his NDIS funding.
Dewi believes that all the other residents have signed contracts. He’s the only one that refused to sign.
‘They're getting a lot, they're getting a fortune off NDIS.’
Dewi hardly ever leaves his room because he’s afraid they will change the locks and he will be homeless again.
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.