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 "My name is Kerry and I live in an aged care nursing home because the supports I need to live in the community don't exist ..."
Living with frail older people isn't much fun. In fact, it can be pretty dull and boring!
Instead of playing bingo, I'd rather watch the latest movie!
Or meet some friends for coffee or lunch, listen to Greenday or send some emails to friends overseas...just normal everyday things.
But I can't do any of them in a nursing home. I want to live life!
A former teacher, Kerry has MS. She has lived in a suburban aged care nursing home for the last three years.
Kerry was attending a program that took her out into her community and provided the social opportunities the nursing home couldn’t supply.
A young person living in an aged care nursing home needs to use disability supports and services like the community access program Kerry was participating in.
But because they were established to serve the needs of very different populaitons, the aged care and disability systems see any cross system access to their respective (limited) programs as greedy and unfair, making it almost impossible for a young person living in residential aged care to access any disability programs.
Because she was seen to be ‘double dipping’, Kerry lost her community access. She was devastated!
The contact she needed to maintain her health and well being was taken away and Kerry was left to depend on the limited (and age inapporpriate) resources of the nursing home.
Kerry needs additional staff to help support her in the nursing home and wants to be able to get out and have lunch with friends or go to the movies once again.
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