Laurent
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.
Laurent is undergoing rehabilitation in a mental health unit. Over the last decade he’s experienced a lot of abuse in the system, he told the Royal Commission.
‘I haven’t had a good stay in mental health.’
A few years ago, he was on parole and in a rehab unit. Doctors got him to do a urine test.
‘And they said it had come back positive, it was marijuana, and I said I never touched any marijuana … I said I’ll do another one … and it came back negative. So they gave the one to parole that was positive, and they sent me to gaol for a year.’
Laurent is now under an involuntary treatment order and says he has no say in his treatment.
‘They force my medication on me. I was on a medication I was happy with. All of a sudden, they went and swapped my medication to a new one … I get tremors from it, I get the shakes from it.’
Laurent has no-one to advocate for his rights. There’s one support worker on-site.
‘They can’t do much for us, its talking to a brick wall.’
Recently staff put him in seclusion for two weeks just because he ‘got upset’.
‘They wouldn’t give me my Bible … They’re still investigating that.’
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.