While the world goes into lockdown and people start throwing tantrums at being forced to change their routines, cancel their plans and give up fun activities, the sick, poor and disabled have watched on with considerable bemusement.
You see, for us, we’ve often been forced to self-isolate, often been prevented from participating in “fun events”, often been denied things we either want or need. When we have expressed our own frustrations about this, the world, quite frankly, has not given a damn. The sick, elderly and disabled of our society have long been viewed as a burden or as an invisible mass that barely registers in our collective consciousness. Over the decades, as a group, we have been denied by government and society alike such accommodations as tele-health services, the flexibility to work from home, support for mental health due to our often forced isolation and basic access to a livable wage or stipend.
Now these things are being made available for the healthy, able-bodied workforce. Suddenly, the government CAN afford to roll out these measures that we were told there was no money for in the budget. Small and medium businesses are being promised financial support, as are other workers and students (though there are many who are, at time of writing, still being left out of the most recent stimulus package). The current Australian Government, our conservative Liberal-National Party, is rolling out measures that would previously have been decried as “socialist”, because they realise that if they don’t, society will cease to function. Of course, they haven’t really had a change of heart. All these packages are part of a desperate attempt to buoy our capitalist system so that it doesn’t implode. They want things to return to normal after this. It is telling that, out of all the increases and additional support measures, financial support has NOT been extended to disability support and carers' payments. Once again, even though we are the most vulnerable to poverty and death in this crisis, we are still being coldly denied.
The word “galling” doesn’t even come close to covering it for us. We’re being told that these frantic attempts to stop the virus spreading are to protect those who might die from it. (In reality, many people can die from this virus, not just the immuno-compromised and elderly. This is for everyone’s benefit, not specifically us). Even if that were the case, it is not being reflected in the way society is reacting. Along with outright ignoring social distancing rules, people have been panic buying food and basic supplies as well as medicines and hand sanitizers. Do you know who regularly need hand-sanitizers, masks and medicines? The chronically ill. Do you know what it’s like to have a bowel or colon disorder such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome and have no access to toiler paper? Do you know what it’s like to watch medications you need to function or live, being bought up by people who never gave them a thought before this crisis? As I said: the word galling doesn’t even come close.
And don’t get me started on how online food deliveries have been suspended because of panic buyers. When you’re too sick to even leave your house, what do you do when Coles no longer delivers?
Then there’s the isolation. Studies have shown that sick, elderly and disabled people are far more likely to be lonely and to live on their own. We’re more likely to be in abject poverty and to be abused. We’re more likely to be unemployed. Many of us have been denied a disability pension because the criteria for it have become so ludicrously strict that huge percentages of us cannot get the scant support on offer that we sorely we need. The NDIS is riddled with failures and shortcomings. I have three disabling chronic illnesses, but the Government has decided they’re not disabling enough so I don’t deserve a pension; conversely, the disability work agency I attended deemed me too disabled to put into work. The left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing and “head” of state honestly doesn’t care.
We've long been denied access to events, shops, entertainment venues, parks and much more because they have not been made accessible to us. Many train stations and public buildings don’t even have lifts or ramps. Psychology services have increased in cost, and, without that magic pension card, many of us can no longer afford their rates because the Medicare rebate hasn’t been changed in years (it’s a pittance). We have been left in our homes, sick, sore and alone with little to no support, for decades. Now everyone is talking about “how to combat cabin fever” and “make sure you reach out to your mate for a phone chat or Skype!” What about us? Where were the community initiatives for us all these years?
This entire fiasco has also shown up Australia's deep class divisions. Most of the country's poorest individuals live in regional communities which have been treated abhorrently by the public this month. They have just gone through catastrophic bushfires and lost their homes and jobs, yet there have been numerous media reports of city slickers travelling all the way to regional stores and clearing out the food and supplies of our society's most impoverished. You know, the regional workers who grow, package and deliver that same food to the stores in Sydney and Melbourne. The selfishness is utterly breathtaking.
As this crisis unfolds, it shines a scalding light on the weaknesses of our systems. It has illuminated areas where we desperately need both more funding and flexibility. Now that everyone’s health and livelihoods are at stake, these things are abruptly being prioritized. In all the chaos, the chronically and mentally ill, the poor and disabled, are once again being sidelined and forgotten, even though we have been the ones advocating for these changes all along.
So what can an able-bodied, comparatively well-off person do to help? The list is long, but here are a few key suggestions.
1.) You can make an effort to reach out to any sick/disabled friends or family members by phone or email to check in on how they’re doing. Talk to them more often if they desire it and ask if you can help with things like picking up food and supplies.
2.) Don’t panic buy. Make sure there’s enough stock for everyone, keeping in mind society’s most vulnerable.
3.) Donate to homelessness shelters and non-profits that help this section of society. People are reticent to spend on anything but toilet paper right now, so please donate if you can as many charities are going to feel the lack of funds acutely, and we rely on them to survive. Charities often fill in where the government has shirked all responsibility.
4.) Obey social distancing rules and don’t get us sick! Practice strict hygiene and stay away from the public if you have symptoms or know you’ve been exposed to the virus. Continue to do this after the pandemic and for the love of God, get your flu shot!
5.) Give us priority in pharmacies, testing centres, GP practices and hospitals. This virus is very literally life or death for many of us and we don’t want to have to fight you to get what we need to live.
6.) Finally and perhaps most importantly, advocate for many of these measures to remain in place after the virus has passed. Things like working from home and tele-health services are the difference between our participating in society and being forced into a forgotten corner. This crisis has proven we can have a fairer, more inclusive society if we collectively put our mind to it. Don’t allow Government to roll back these accommodations once this is over. Keep at their heels to ensure they continue to invest in healthcare and healthcare infrastructure. Keep badgering them to increase Newstart and the disability pension. Please, please, don’t allow them to forget about us again.
If you’re confronted by the fact you cannot go out to your favourite locations, that you may have to be stuck indoors for months at a time, that you may no longer be able to access the things you need to be happy or well, please consider that this has always been our reality. The only way that can change is if we all decide it should. This could be the moment to do that, but we will need your support.
We will need you to remember us.
