“I have no choice or control over my life.”
ANTHONY
My name is Anthony Vincent and I am an NDIS participant.
I will be 55 this year. I have athetoid cerebral palsy and am wheelchair dependent.
I like to watch AFL, cricket and tennis (sport in general). I go to the gym twice a week and Toastmasters once a week. On the weekends I visit my family – Mum, sister Jenni and brother Russell.
I spend a lot of time in my shared accommodation but I cannot wait to move into my own apartment.
Before my Dad died 11 years ago I was living in a group house in Canberra. Dad and I submitted an application to the ACT Disability Housing team for independent housing for me. That was 2010. Nothing came of that application.
Over the years I have had several offers to move into my own apartments but business changes, the introduction of the NDIS and COVID affected these at critical times.
Every time we contact the NDIS we get a different person and I have to tell my story all over again. Then they give me a different statement of where my claim is up to. Nobody knows how it works, that is the problem, they need to train staff so everyone knows how SDA works and how people apply for the funding.
I am still living in a group house and am getting more and more frustrated with the seemingly pointless delays and incompetence of the NDIS. I have no “choice or control” over my life.