Disabilities all about the money – not care, not compassion, not empathy…just cash… The CEO of Afford , who lets a girl die and then is allowed to start a new “ThriveCare.Co” disabilities business! Where is accountability by Providers like Afford Disabilities who let a person die in their care with no charges by the NSW police or justice system, made to the organization and no charges to the workers? The NDIS and our justice system has a lot to answer for… not regarding the life of a girl with disability worth enough to bring justice for and charge the perpetrator the Afford Disabilities organization who let it happen…what is wrong with the NSW law system? What is wrong with the NDIS commission who allow businesses to keep starting up by those business people, like the CEO of Afford, who have allowed abuse and hurt and harm and death to others??
Broken hearted parents trying to fight for their vulnerable children come against the deaf ears of a selfish society not interested in those who are suffering in disabilities…until it happens to them as we saw in the pandemic people upset at the lack of fairness or interest in their suffering …and a justice system that only cares about the money cost and economics of the cases. Often a political agenda, or money deal is behind it all.
Perhaps if it had been a wealthy white family whose daughter died, perhaps if she did not have a disability, then something would have been done about the neglect of Merna and mistakes made by those in charge leading to her death in a residential house run by Afford? Perhaps.
It was noted by Julie Cross of the Daily Telegraph (August 2022), that the former CEO of Afford, who was in charge of the Afford disabilities organization when Merna Aprem drowned in one of the disability houses, and resigned in June last year, and also was described as a ‘narcissist’ by the Royal commission when they investigated him recently, has started up a new disabilities service. He was also in charge of Afford, when three boys were sexually abused by their worker. The article notes that the CEO, Steven Herald, was also accused by the Royal Commission as being someone ‘who was more interested in making the business money than caring of the disabled’. Noted in the article that Afford jumped in its profits from $51.8 million and 898 clients in 2016-2017 to $145.6 million in 2020 to 2021 and 6000 clients – a bumper year for the callous money makers indeed they appear to cease having hearts after the first million or maybe they never had caring hearts in the first place. So many disabilities businesses are starting up with the NDIS scheme leaning toward providers more than the participants.
Merna’s mother, Tanya, has called it a slap in the face to all people with disabilities and to her, when this former CEO could now go and start up a new disabilities business. After no repercussions or accountability for allowing Merna to drown in their house this man can start another disabilities business. NO accountability for not training the workers properly that day, no accountability for failing to have all Merna’s information given to the staff, no accountability for the locked door and lack of supervision, and no accountability for a 20 year old girl’s death after being trusted to care for her. Tanya said “I raised my daughter for 20 years and they took away her life after 5 weeks of being in their care. The system is failing big time” (Daily Telegraph August 2022).
Parents are broken and traumatized by the harm or loss of their children and the disabilities providers walk away accountable, this needs to be changed and they need to be made to pay for what they have done or failed to do for our disability children.sign my petition change.org/disabilitycameras
Noted recently by Sonia Sodha in a Guardian news Article (2022, 21st August) Some residential places are fun for profit by companies owned by private equity funds that have ‘spied an opportunity to make a healthy return out of a guaranteed government income stream through care for vulnerable people” Even then as we know with the recent royal commission into Afford disabilities who has made big profits our of disabilities care while not really caring even letting them die in care, and Sunnyfields with their CEOs run their business for the dollars but they are not caring for these vulnerable disabilities persons properly, have neglected them even abused these vulnerable young people and children.
The Guardian article notes it is not a question of money why these disabilities children and people are put in residential care since that costs more than if the adult lived and was support in the community, but it is a lack of political will to help and support these vulnerable ones and their parents, which reflects the huge societal stigma that still exists around learning disability. Not enough support is given to parents by society and the organizations for their children to stay at home and be looked after, they may need multiple carers, and the businesses make so much more money if the vulnerable are put in residential care. Sometimes their disability kids with multiple needs, are too much for parents to be able to care for but if they need to be put in care, then they should be in safe loving environments with those who care properly for them not those who are just in it for the money. Today who can parents really trust to look after their children? The track record of NDIS providers is not good and fills our hearts with dread for our children’s futures.
Things need to change and we need our children’s human rights upheld, we parents have to fight for them and we need to stand together in order to do this. The Guardian article state that after all the focus on combating discrimination in society the rights of adults with learning disabilities remain an unfashionable cause. “In every aspect of their lives they are treated as second class citizens as problems to be managed and risks to be minimised rather than as individuals with the same rights as all of us.”
Our children and adult children just want to be treated as normal people, who are cared about, appreciated and valued just like we all want to be treated. Not excluded, ignored or devalued. Human value is beyond money value and we must keep the providers and our politicians accountable for their treatment of those with disabilities, whether physical or intellectual.
Any abuse and harm should not be allowed to be normalized by our society, and justice system…and the providers must be penalized, punished or imprisoned when they commit crimes against our children. Using ‘lack of evidence’ as the standard rejection by police and judges for not charging a provider, is not right, when they harm our children or let them die! We need the laws changed to stop this exploitation of the vulnerable by business people, and we need cctv cameras in all places where disabilities and nonverbal children are being looked after and cared for because that proper care may not be happening at all in fact the opposite. Sign my petition change.org/disabilitycameras
All the best
Anndrea Wheatley