Stella
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.
‘What we need as disabled mature women, we need a safe environment. And nobody’s helping me. Nobody.’
Stella is a First Nations woman in her 60s who is blind and has post-traumatic stress disorder after a sexual assault. She is a wheelchair user and is assisted by a guide dog.
Stella got her first NDIS plan in the early 2020s. The funding was cut when she went interstate to escape domestic violence. She told the Royal Commission she is ‘fighting’ to have it reinstated.
‘I have been looking for someone to help me get back on the NDIS. Nobody is willing to do that.’
Stella also has aged care supports. She feels that she’s ‘stuck between a rock and a hard place’ trying to get help.
‘There is not enough funding for people like me in My Aged Care. I feel totally abandoned by a system that’s there to help and guide and protect me.’
Stella has been struggling for three years to get secure housing.
‘The housing department hasn’t done shit. They had a proper letter … from my GP, from my psychologist. And they both said that I needed a single dwelling, very secure, very quiet area to live in. Never got that.’
Instead, she said, the housing department has moved her to ‘unit after unit after unit’ and puts ‘druggies in with the disabled and the aged’.
In one unit, the door wouldn’t close and she felt unsafe.
Last year, her current unit flooded.
‘The sewerage come up through the pipes and the drains. The toilet overloaded … Nobody does anything about it.’
Stella believes the housing department discriminates against her because of her disability, but also because she is a First Nations person. She doesn’t understand why she shouldn’t qualify for units ‘especially for the disabled’.
‘They’re being racist 70% … They’re always discriminating against my guide dog because they don’t want him being in their apartments. But they definitely don’t want me … If you’re disabled, they don’t want to listen to you.’
Stella said she faces the same mistreatment in the health system. A few months ago, she had a fall from her wheelchair.
‘They wouldn’t let my guide dog in that hospital … I ended up with no pain relief expect for an aspirin that I bought at the bloody pharmacy. They patted me on the head like a dog and said, “Just go home and rest dear. You’re fine.”’
Recently, Stella had ‘a breakdown … a brain meltdown’. With inadequate funding, she couldn’t get mental health supports.
‘I had to hire private … I was for eight months begging people, “Please come help me.”’
Currently she’s living in residential respite accommodation.
‘It’s filthy. It hasn’t been cleaned.’
Support workers don’t hoist her as instructed by her physio and often fail to shower her.
‘There is no duty of care. I have to get out of there … They just don’t look after you. It’s as simple as that. I paid for a bed but I’m not paying for the care because the care’s a joke. I can only stay there for a bit and that’s it, I’m homeless.’
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.