Lilith
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.
Lilith is in her 40s, has psychosocial disability, chronic health issues and is a wheelchair user.
From an early age she experienced suicidal ideation and attempted to self-harm. ‘I am not good on my own... and am a danger to myself,’ she said.
Lilith’s elderly parents have psychosocial and hearing disability. The family uses Auslan as a first language.
Lilith told the Royal Commission that for many years her parents have been vulnerable to financial abuse from banks and credit institutions. Lenders have ‘exploited their disabilities’, and ‘knowingly put [her] parents into financial hardship’.
Her father got caught in a trap of credit card debt. Lilith said there was no interpreter present when he signed the contract, and he was unaware of his legal rights and responsibilities. He is now locked in a cycle of ‘extortionate fees and charges’.
Her parents have worked with a financial counsellor to ease the hardship, but it has come at a cost. ‘I’m extremely depressed and in a lot of pain,’ says Lilith, having ‘grown up with people taking advantage of us as a family’.
Lilith is calling on the Royal Commission to recommend ways to prevent unfair and unethical practices of banks towards people with disability. ‘We have a right to complain and be able to be supported by human rights... to navigate our way through the right channels to make a complaint.’
She is also calling for NDIS planners to listen to participants. Lilith’s new plan does not provide funding for a support person to exercise her assistance dog. The stress and worry have left her in ‘a very dark place’, she said.
‘I’m alone. I’m vulnerable and scared.’
Lilith hopes that in the future, people with disability are listened to, have access to communication in their own language, better mental health care and are adequately supported by the NDIS.
‘PWD shouldn’t live in fear of not receiving adequate funding and support, and we should not be subjected to ongoing scrutiny from the Government. We should not be made to feel like a burden on tax payers.’
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.