00:00As a young boy, Frank Golding saw his brother being sexually abused and dreaded bed time
00:09in the Ballarat Orphanage.
00:11I certainly witnessed other children or heard other children being abused within earshot.
00:15You know, it was just terrible. And so you went to bed each night thinking, I hope it's
00:21not my turn tonight.
00:23His 11 years in so-called care were marked by violence and cruel punishments.
00:28It was an emotional wasteland.
00:30Now he's 86 and, like many other care leavers, can't fathom losing his independence in his
00:36final years.
00:37I hear it all the time from my peers, I'd rather kill myself than go back into an institution.
00:44Monash University researchers have documented the experiences and concerns of more than
00:49100 care leavers as part of a Centre for Healthy Ageing report. They say many fear being re-traumatised.
00:57Residential aged care can be very triggering for care leavers. It could be having to go
01:03to meals in a particular room twice a day. It could be the fact that the front door is
01:09locked.
01:10They're calling for priority funding to help care leavers remain in their own homes.
01:15Now they're going into the aged care system, governments have no choice but to act and
01:20support them.
01:21The Federal Government says it's offering extra education to help aged care workers
01:25better understand triggers and concerns. And it says its new Support at Home program will
01:31include extra payments for those with diverse needs, including care leavers. But they don't
01:36have an automatic fast-track for in-home support.
01:40We certainly deserve to be put at the top of the queue. We were the state's children
01:45as children and I think the state has an obligation to look after us into our old age.
01:50A bad child could last a lifetime.
01:53A simple wish to spend their final years at home and at peace.
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