Sam Petersen is very worried about how the NDIA’s decisions on SDA might affect her and where she hopes to live.
“The uncertainty over what is essential for me makes me feel like my life has had the pause button put on,” she said.
Sam recently received a conditional offer for an independent living unit and she is concerned it is an offer unlikely to come up again.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get offered a place like this again – so close to the city,” she said. “I could miss this chance and I’m scared there won’t be another.”
Sam has lived in her current shared home for three years, but has never felt safe.
“I’m in a constant state of panic…there is a lot of screaming and crying. Some of it is understandable but I can’t do anything about it and that kills me. I often go out to avoid it, but sometimes they scream at night and I’m stuck in bed, unable to get away.”
Sam said she had lived independently in a flat before her circumstances changed and she wanted to be able to do that again.
“I want room to live, to be able to have friends and a partner over. I don’t feel comfortable doing that now,” she said. “I want to have a home with my own things so that it feels like my home.”
“I want to live independently so I can finish my studies, get work, do ordinary things with family and friends and work on my art … you know, just ordinary things.”