I'm not just writing this for me, I'm writing this for anyone who ether has been abused in ANY way whilst in the care of ANY authority, home, elderly people's care home, or knows anybody who has suffered abuse of any kind in any care settting where we put our trust in others to support and sustain our wellbeing. I was sent to a supported housing scheme when I was 18, with the good intentions of my mum to help me start an independant life away from the family home and to get the correct support to manage the difficulties that arise from my Asperger's diagnosis, nothing was avalable in my home city so I went further away to one that we had researched as the best option at the time. I had not been there for a day when one member of their staff, lets call her Jannet for namesake, not her real name, I would never publish it online for fear of reprisals, she began her reign of terror from day one, she began a horriffic yelling lecture simply because I had said the word "what" in response to something she had said. Unfortunatly I lived in an independant bungalow in the grounds of a main house, so it was her v me over what she had done, and her being an employee of the care company and me being Aspergers, would always worm out of any accusations like an eel. There were many incedents where she was on sleepover duty at the house and she would leave 4 very vaunarable people with learning difficulties as soon as the day staff had finished their shift gone off home, to come up to my flat and scream at me over the damage I had supposedly done to the interior, even though the flat had not been cleaned at all well from the previous tennant before I moved in, so the carpets were dingy, the kitchen cupboards had doors coming off etc etc. She would yell, her voice was worse than a punch, a punch hurts for a few minutes, her voice penetrated my mind like a hot poker, and it did not take much to kick her off, even looking at her wrong would start a week of uncontrolled abuse, threats, name calling, personal comments etc etc. I don't live there any more, I've been left nearly 3 years and I still have terrible nightmares where I have "the chance to face her" but never do it, then I wake up thinking I'm in the flat and she is coming to scream again. They also left me a legacy of £7000 debt, which is now paid off thank god, so I had to keep in touch with them after I left, being reminded of "Jannet's" horrible behavour every time I had to take them money. This place was a company who you had to pay rent to, even though they failed to take rent from me for several months after I moved in dispite my begging them to take it, then when the management used "Jannet" ( who is only community support worker) to harrass me to withdraw a very large sum of money from the bank and take it, in CASH to their office to cover the unpaid rent, then a few months later I was presented with a massive shortfall in the rent money, which they then again used this very vicous woman to harass me to make unreasonable repayments which ment I had to forfeit clothing, so when the summer became Winter I struggled for warm clothes and shoes. there was even an account of a physical fight between "Jannet" and the tennant who lived next door to me, where she slashed her accross the neck with huge nail extentions, the victim of course was too frightened to do anything, even though her blood was spattered all over her coat from the cuts in her neck, and of course nobody saw this happen, most of the staff were also afraid of her, and at the end of the day all she was was a community support worker who abused her position of trust and inflicted long lasting mental wounds onto me and no doubt many others.
Please, if you or anyone else you know is thinking about using a service like this for gods sake investigate it, ask too many questions, and if anything like this happens to you , GET THE HELL OUT before you land up like me, unable to sleep, seriously dangerously depressed, health problems, anger problems, you name it, don't allow it to get that far, no matter who you are, if a family member is in a care place and they mention ANYTHING suspicous for heavens sake don't leave them there, the damage can be lifelong, as I am finding out each day I struggle through.
Please, if you or anyone else you know is thinking about using a service like this for gods sake investigate it, ask too many questions, and if anything like this happens to you , GET THE HELL OUT before you land up like me, unable to sleep, seriously dangerously depressed, health problems, anger problems, you name it, don't allow it to get that far, no matter who you are, if a family member is in a care place and they mention ANYTHING suspicous for heavens sake don't leave them there, the damage can be lifelong, as I am finding out each day I struggle through.