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AN INTELLECTUALLY disabled man was forced to sleep on a mattress on a police station floor because of a lack of emergency accommodation funding in Bendigo.
The man's mother has told their harrowing story out of disgust at the lack of funding and fear of him becoming homeless.
Christine's 30-year-old son, who the Bendigo Advertiser has chosen not to name, has become aggressive to the extent his parents are at risk.
His behaviour reached a level last Saturday that forced Christine to call the police who took her son into custody.
The incident left Christine and her husband with no other option but to take out an intervention order against their son which prohibits him from living with them for 12 months.
Two policemen made phone calls to disability services to find emergency accommodation for the man after taking him into custody.
Police told Christine they made up to 40 phone calls to disability services but none could take her son.
"All they found was 'please call back on Monday'," she said.
''Thank you to the Bendigo police - you went above and beyond your care for our son.''
The next day a family friend took her son in for two nights while she contacted disability services.
She said almost every service said they did not have enough funding to help.
Bendigo organisation Haven; Home, Safe offered the family $180 for a tent and sleeping bag or two nights in a local motel.
Camping was not an option, so the family opted for the motel.
Christine said on Wednesday her son was at risk of becoming homeless because she didn't know where he would spend Thursday night.
An aged care facility in Junortoun looked like a possibility, but that fell through.
After Christine and her husband met with the Department of Health and Human Services, funding for a few more nights at the motel was given to Haven; Home, Safe.
The department then linked the family with temporary supported accommodation in Kyneton while they apply through the standard rental market for a unit.
Christine said she was disgusted and appalled at the hopelessness of her son's situation.
"I've paid taxes all of my life, I need some of that now to look after my son, where’s that?'' she said.
"It doesn’t only affect me, how many people out there and are going through the same thing, living through the same nightmares and there’s no help?
"I’ve voiced my disgust to the disability services when I’ve spoken to them and they say they have had their funding cut.
"In fact, some of them even say, 'we don’t have any money'.
"These are the vulnerable people in our society and they need care."
Christine said her son was heartbroken that he could not live at home.
"His whole life has been turned upside down, his whole world as he knew it is gone," Christine said.
Christine said the couple were deeply hurt to take out an intervention order against their son but could not cope with his aggressive behaviour.
Her husband is 61 and has had a couple of nervous breakdowns as a result of the strain of caring for their son.
"It's something we’ve had to put up with 24 hours a day, seven days a week," Christine said.
"When the last incident happened we locked our bedroom door for two weeks.
"It's not that my son’s a monster, his disability creates this I suppose.
"We love our son, but we can just no longer live in the same home with him."
Christine said disability services encouraged her decision to speak out.
"Everyone has told me to just keep going," she said. "I’m just so bloody angry, that’s probably all that’s keeping me going at the moment."
Christine said she would never turn her back on her son and would do everything to help him.
"He’s got the mind of a 10 to 12-year-old. He’s brilliant in some things, but (in other things) he has no understanding."
Christine hopes someone will pay attention to her family's situation.
"It's the lack of services, the funding, there is nothing available in a crisis situation like we found ourselves in on Saturday."