Faces Of Despair As Calls For Help Go Unanswered
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday March 18, 2006
ALMOST 90 per cent of people who applied for disability accommodation in NSW last year missed out, figures show.
The data, provided by the Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care, highlight the huge need for special housing and support staff for people with intellectual and physical handicaps.Across the state 976 people applied for only 104 vacancies in group homes in 2004-05. In some regions the chances of securing a place were virtually nil.The Opposition spokesman on disability services, John Ryan, said the figures were the tip of the iceberg. "I know many people don't bother applying to the department because they know they're not going to get help."Most applicants were people whose parents were old, or desperate and no longer able to care for them, he said. In the western region of the state, stretching from Albury to Tamworth and out to Broken Hill, 127 people applied for one vacancy. In Sydney 364 people applied for 55 vacancies, while in the northern region there were 279 applicants for 13 vacancies.Moerangi Kennedy, of Glebe, applied for housing for her daughter Bianca, 29, who suffered brain injury 31/2 years ago when a cardiac arrest cut oxygen to her brain.Ms Kennedy, a sole parent, was diagnosed with breast cancer in November, and said she was worn out and needed to look after her own health for a while. "At the time all I felt for Bianca was love, and that it was my job to take care of her because she was my daughter," she said. "I didn't understand how tough it was physically and emotionally caring for someone with brain injury." The department arranged in-home carers three mornings a week but it was not enough: "I will more or less have to die, and then they may put her in a group home."Estelle and Peter Shields, of Denistone, put their name on a list 25 years ago in the hope their son, Daniel, born with intellectual disabilities, could be accommodated by the time he was in his 20s. He is now 28, with no prospects of a place. Three years ago they were told the old waiting lists were obsolete. "But it doesn't matter how long you're on a list; we're the lowest priority. I am not single, or over 70, and he doesn't have challenging behaviour," Mrs Shields said.A recent Productivity Commission report shows NSW is the worst-performing state in providing disability accommodation. Mr Ryan said the State Government had focused on "physical infrastructure - tunnels and dams - but wound back social infrastructure".New places had been allocated to people being moved out of institutions, and while this was important, families with offspring at home had missed out.The Minister for Disability Services, John Della Bosca, said the Government had created 1000 new group home places and 600 support services, and doubled funding since 1996. "There's no question we need more options for people with a disability and their families," he said. The Federal Government had shortchanged NSW by $3 billion in GST revenue, he said, and the extra money "would solve a lot of problems for families and people with disability". The State Government is preparing a 10-year "disability plan" to be made public later this year, including a new approach to accommodation.
© 2006 Sydney Morning Herald
