By Belinda Nolan
YOUNG and middle-aged Brimbank residents with disabilities are being forced to live in nursing homes because they have nowhere else to go.
At least five young people are currently being housed in aged care facilities across the municipality, while many more are threatened with the prospect each year.
The situation has been labelled “alarming” by disability experts who have called for government intervention to address the problem.
Di Winkler from the Summer Foundation said the disability system provided support to those with a congenital disability but people with brain injuries often slipped through the cracks.
“They are one of the most marginalised groups in our society,” Ms Winkler said.
“There aren’t enough facilities to house these individuals so, more often than not, they end up in aged care.
“Young people do not belong in nursing homes and those that end up there can be quite scarred by the experience.
“It’s really quite an alarming situation.”
Nobody knows this better than Michelle Newland.
The Kings Park resident spent more than a year in a Parkville nursing home, after suffering a near-fatal brain injury seven years ago.
The then 19-year-old has little recollection of the experience but her mother, Ann has vivid memories of those dark days.
“It was absolutely horrific,” Ms Newland recalls. “She had the whole world at her fingertips and suddenly everything disappeared.
“One day, I was helping her look for her first car and within a matter of days I was searching for a nursing home for my teenage daughter. It was every parent’s worst nightmare.”
Unable to care for her daughter in the short term, Ms Newland and her husband were forced to admit Michelle to a nursing home.
“It was horrible for her,” Ms Newland said. “When we went to visit her she was the saddest person you’ve ever seen.
“She spent most of the time curled up in a ball. No-one should ever have to go through that.”
Despite the obstacles, Michelle’s is one of the great success stories.
With the support of her parents and church community, Michelle gradually began to regain her ability to eat and talk and has begun giving public talks about her experiences in the hope of inspiring others.
Ms Winkler said new disability accommodation being developed in St Albans would help keep six Brimbank residents from Michelle’s fate.
“This is starting to be addressed but more needs to be done to address the problem,” Ms Winkler said.
The Summer Foundation will be conducting a listening forum in Brimbank for families and carers of young people living in nursing homes.
The session will be held at Isis Primary Care in St Albans on 26 October.
Michelle and her family celebrated her remarkable recovery with friends and family last week.
To inquire about booking Michelle to speak at your event, email vicland22@ optusnet.com.au.
