Andrew was in his 40s when he was told: “You are an Aboriginal man, you have a degenerative disease, you may as well continue in a system you are going to end up in.”
He was given no choice, he was put in the aged care system.
He lived in a number of homes across the 4 years until he was able to fight his way out.
Andrew describes having nothing in common with the people he was living with. His time in aged care, with inappropriate care, led to a loss of his ability to walk for any length of time, to swallow unaided, and now he can’t live without high care costs.
Andrew is now on the NDIS and has finally got the funding he needs to live in appropriate housing.
He looks forward to a home of his own but Andrew will continue to live with the irreversible damage caused by being put in a system ill-equipped to cater for his needs.
“It is just stuffed – young people in aged care”
Read and watch more stories from young people who lived in aged care
