'Not old and not sick'

April 5, 2000
Issue 
400
News

'Not old and not sick'

BY ALEX BAINBRIDGE

HOBART — "I want to choose the people I live with" was one of the more popular placards at an April 1 rally here demanding housing rights for people with brain injuries and other neurological disabilities.

At present, people with such disabilities are all but forced to live in aged care homes, unless they have enough money to pay for other types of support. But, at a rally focussing on issues facing young people, one person commented, "I'm not old and I'm not sick".

David Pearce from HOPES, Housing Options for People needing Extra Support, said that in some instances families of people with disabilities were forced to sell their house to pay nursing home fees. "It's not right", he said, calling for government services to match people's needs rather than be constrained by too-tight budgets.

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