The closure of the Laura Fergusson Trust's Auckland rehabilitation and respite facility was a blow to many people in the disabled community. And as The Detail finds out, disabled people continue to be frustrated by a system that doesn't truly meet their needs.
After Sophia Malthus broke her neck at work in 2016, she spent nine months at the Laura Fergusson Trust's Auckland rehabilitation and respite facility.
She was 19 and at the time, her parents lived in a five-storey townhouse. She needed somewhere to go while her parents found a place to live that was wheelchair accessible.
"My only options were Laura Fergusson or a rest home," Malthus explains.
"And so now that there is no more Laura Fergusson, after the closure, the only option is a rest home."
The Laura Fergusson Trust closed its facility in Auckland back in 2020, citing its precarious financial position after years of deficits.
The decision came as a shock to disabled people - and their families - who used and relied on the services provided there.
Malthus went to Laura Fergusson after spending three months in a hospital spinal unit. She describes Laura Fergusson as "a village".
"I had my own little unit there, there was a kitchenette, my own bathroom, everything was centred around me being as independent as possible, and then when I needed somebody, I would push the bell and they would come when they were free.
Malthus says her period in the spinal unit was about helping her stabilise her health, whereas her time at Laura Fergusson was about teaching her what she can do as a disabled person.
"It is really important that you go through different levels of care and also different levels of understanding about your disability because you need to have other sources of information when your whole life has changed. You can't just learn how to live a new life from one source."
In a feature in the latest issue of North and South, journalist Pete McKenzie delves into the reasons behind the closure of Laura Fergusson and the systemic problems with funding for disability support services.
McKenzie tells The Detail about the history of the trust, the stories of some of the people who used the facilities, the financial problems and controversies affecting the Auckland branch, as well as the reaction to the closure.
Luckily, another disability support service provider, Spectrum, was able to find capacity to take on those who relied on Laura Fergusson.
But Malthus says she worries about what happens if she or someone else needs to use a facility like the one that was provided by Laura Fergusson in Auckland.
"Every three-and-a-half days someone breaks their neck in New Zealand - and that's just spinal cord injuries, that's not all of the other people with disabilities that need facilities like Laura Fergusson. The only option [that's left is] rest homes.
"I just don't feel comfortable with people like myself being stuck in a rest home."
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