Lara
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.
Lara has worked in the disability sector for more than 20 years. For the past 10 years she’s worked as a support worker in different group homes.
Lara told the Royal Commission, ‘The quality of life for people living in the community has vastly improved since de-institutionalisation.’ But she has seen, and continues to see, violence and abuse in group homes.
‘This abuse has not been by the support staff, but by other residents living in the group home.’
Lara said this happens for a number of reasons but mostly because the group home funding model requires shared services. If a group home accommodates five residents, the first priority is to find five residents to live in the home. Little consideration is given to whether residents are compatible with each other. Sometimes providers deliberately choose residents who are incompatible.
Lara said in one extreme case a ‘quiet’ gentleman was placed with a resident with extremely violent and abusive behaviours. Staff were able to focus on the resident who needed greater support and management. The quiet resident developed protective behaviours towards the violent resident, to his own detriment. ‘He had to tolerate this environment for four years before it was deemed unsuitable,’ she said.
Currently Lara is working in a house that accommodates six people. One resident has an intellectual disability and an undiagnosed personality disorder. ‘Her mood is unpredictable and can be malicious and hurtful.’
Lara likens the experience for the people who live with her to living in a household with domestic violence, ‘where one day the perpetrator is your friend, the next your foe’.
Many people living in group homes are not able to communicate what is happening. ‘They also lack the tools to be able to navigate, or change their environment or develop a healthier relationship with the person causing the issue.’
Lara said the fact that most reports of violence and abuse are dealt with internally exacerbates the problem. ‘Families have limited knowledge of how other’s behaviour impacts [their family member] due to privacy restrictions on staff.’
She says management must address resident compatibility to stop violence and abuse in group homes.
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.