Riley
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.
‘Overloaded, overstimulated and feeling like just a steady stream of income ... As a disabled person, I felt like a number.’
Riley is in his early 40s. He told the Royal Commission that when he was in his 30s he became homeless after a long relationship broke down. Living on the streets exacerbated his epilepsy and depression and he started having suicidal thoughts.
Riley moved interstate hoping to live with his father. His father refused to have anything to do with him – Riley is gay – marking all Riley’s Centrelink mail ‘return to sender’.
Centrelink cut Riley’s unemployment payment and he became homeless again, with no money for medication or food. He had multiple seizures and became malnourished and dehydrated. ‘My memory of this period in my life is virtually non-existent.’
Eventually Riley was admitted to hospital and a psychiatrist diagnosed him with bipolar disorder. An MRI scan revealed he’d suffered a small stroke while he was homeless, affecting his mobility.
After he was discharged, he went to live in a supported accommodation facility for people with disability and people with substance abuse issues. For the first time Riley started receiving disability supports.
Riley said his biggest issue during this period was being surrounded by competing health care professionals – he felt ‘like a commodity’. Social workers wanted him to move out of the supported accommodation. Psychologists wanted him to stay. Riley’s psychiatrist wanted him to attend appointments on the days he had regular employment agency meetings. His support worker wanted him to go to the movies twice a week to meet his ‘social companionship goals’.
‘I was pulled in six different directions, feeling beholden to, and guilty about, attracting so many lovely and well-meaning people into my life. Everybody, it seemed, was competing for my attention to ensure they got paid.’
Riley said he didn’t feel supported but used. Organisations started using him as a photo opportunity because he is ‘well presented’ and ‘sounded educated’. He was paraded at seminars and support groups for gay people, people living with depression and people with cerebral palsy.
‘Honestly, being disabled felt like a full-time occupation.’
However, Riley wasn’t getting the support he needed. One time he was in extreme pain because of a toothache, but his disability support worker wouldn’t drive him in the company car to the dentist. The support worker prattled off a list of reasons but none of them made sense. It seemed the support worker’s role was to keep him company – not actually support him. ‘The service they provide is ephemeral and tokenistic.’
Riley has become cynical about disability support. ‘The relationship between the disabled client and disability support worker is based on obtaining signatures on contracts, not really about measurable outcomes or improving quality of life for the disabled.’
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.