“My name is Angela and I waited over 150 days FOR SDA in my plan.”
“Waiting for my SDA was like being in a holding cell.”
ANGELA
My name is Angela Barker OAM and I am 36 years old. I acquired my severe traumatic brain injury when I was 16 years old. I was just a girl living at home with her family. After the assault I was admitted to hospital, rehab, and then a nursing home – living with the elderly until I was one of them.
I went home to my family in Benalla for 5 years before moving to an apartment in Melbourne. This apartment was old, noisy and cold, which impacted my disability. In some areas it was small and difficult to manoeuvre, and the entrance to the apartment was difficult as it used a key and was very narrow.
I waited for over 150 days for SDA approval for the apartment I now live in. The wait was horrible, during this time I had a lot of anxiety. I love my SDA apartment; I have on-call 24-hour care and its accessibility meets my needs. The location is great, coffee shop, retail shops and close to a gym. It has more of a community atmosphere. It is meant to be.