What would you do?

What Would You Do?

Hello, Renee LA here, writing this blog from a marshmallow pink & purple garage/office space underneath my house. For the last three years, I’ve been running a disability accommodation service from here—a space that has seen our journey through numerous challenges and triumphs. Today, I’m sharing a story that might shock you: Despite our success and dedication, our service is struggling to find a rental property. Why? Could it be because landlords don’t want to take a risk on people with a disability staying in their homes? Prejudice against people with disabilities and the services who support them is alive and well in the rental market, and it’s forcing us as a service to face some harsh realities. This brings me to a critical question I want to ask: What would you do?

Three years ago, my husband and I were managing two thriving businesses on Pakington Street in Geelong. We were just emerging from the tail end of the global pandemic, and our businesses, although impacted, were flourishing due to our uncanny ability to creatively respond to challenges and rise from the ashes with new ideas and ways to prosper. I was on a personal growth journey, having burned out from my previous ten years of navigating the front line of the disability sector. My husband, after 20 years in the community sector, was in a similar place—tired and in need of a change.

We had discovered entirely different fields that aligned with our passions, allowing us to step away from the community services sector for a bit. We built teams around us to help deliver these new services to the public. Although our roots were in community service, we were now using our skills and talents in a fresh way, which made us stand out and become leaders in our new areas of focus.

One day, I had an idea to merge our new career paths back into our old ones, and from there, CoCo Support Services was born. What started as our side project soon took over and became our main focus. We made the significant decision to move all our belongings out of our family home and use it as a workspace for our new clients and staff. This was a huge sacrifice for us and our family—we had to relocate so we could pursue this latest chapter of our lives. Our family, used to our big plans, supported us from the sidelines while we worked tirelessly to create our company. This meant that we essentially had no home and resided in a small room at the front corner of the premises. The house was no longer our family home, but we needed to stay close by as we were running a 24/7 complex disability support service that required us to be at the helm, steering the ship.

In the early days, we did a lot of the hands-on work, but as our service grew more sought after, we needed to bring in a team to help ease the load. As the service expanded, the back end of the business also grew, and we created a pretty little space in the garage, which became our makeshift office. Over time, we spent more and more time in this space, and since we chose not to leave altogether, it became our only place to escape the hustle and bustle of a thriving disability service running within the place we resided.

Fast forward to our third year— our family circumstances have changed, and my mother-in-law’s health issues have made her increasingly frail, to the point where she will soon be unable to live on her own. We have made the decision to strip down the office space, extend, customise, and renovate it into a fully accessible space for her to live in. For my husband and me, this means we would be confined to the one room within the workspace. Rather than moving out, we’ve decided to move the service into another space and reclaim our home.

Building the service while being so closely connected to it has served the business well—we’ve been able to establish ourselves and perfect the company’s systems. But now it’s time for us to turn our attention back towards our family who needs us as much as the people we support do. We have set ourselves up so that the transition will be smooth and seamless. The team is strong, and we’ll be able to manage things from a separate location. It’s been a unique way of doing things, but we know it’s what makes us as strong as we are as a company. The proof is in the pudding—we have become the most sought-after Short Term Accommodation provider in the Victorian region, if not Australia. We have people travelling to us from across the nation.

Now that I’ve given you some backstory, this brings me back to the reason I wanted to write this blog: to shine a light on the prejudice we are currently facing. It’s no secret that people with disabilities have been historically marginalised, locked away in asylums, neglected, and pushed aside. The NDIS has been a significant step forward in Australia, but lately, as the government attempts to claw back funds, there has been a campaign to turn public opinion against the very system that has helped restore dignity and respect to people with a disability. Unfortunately, this prejudice still permeates society, and nowhere is it more evident than in the rental market.

Despite our credentials, our success, and our commitment to making a difference, every time we apply for a rental property to house our service, we are met with resistance. Landlords don’t want people with a disability in their properties. They are afraid, misinformed, or simply prejudiced. They say no, time and time again, leaving homes vacant rather than giving us a chance. One property owner said yes, but only if we pay double the weekly rent! It’s disheartening, but it’s also a stark reminder of how far we still have to go as a society.

So, I ask you again: What would you do if I approached you? Would you say no and rent your property to someone else, anyone else—but not to a service that helps people who have a disability? Would you let fear and prejudice dictate your decision, or would you take a stand and say yes?

As a child, I vividly remember how the kids with disabilities at my primary school were often excluded—some were teased, bullied, or simply left out. One of them was my cousin. I would sometimes see her sitting in her wheelchair, isolated and unable to move on her own. I’d run over and push her to where the other kids were playing, trying to include her in some way. My friends and I would gather around, move her from place to place, but eventually, we’d run off to play, never fully grasping how to make her feel truly included. The memory of my inability to do more for her has haunted me throughout my life. I always felt like I had fallen short.

As I grew older, I channelled that feeling into a deep commitment to helping people who have a disability—it became my career. I’ve come to understand the limitations, but I also know there is always more I can do to make a difference.

With age comes clarity. I now understand my purpose. I use myself as a vehicle for the change I want to see, just as I did as a child, but now with the wisdom and determination to truly make an impact. I’ve surrounded myself with a team of like-minded individuals, and together, we are confronting the dirtiness and shame of a society that too often turns its back, choosing to ignore the very real prejudice that still persists today.

The moral of this story is about confronting and overcoming the prejudice that exists within us all. Disability support services are at the forefront of being the change—providing essential support that uplifts and empowers individuals with a disability. Without these services, where would that leave people with a disability? Where was society before independent services came along, offering the dignity, respect, and opportunities that everyone deserves? These services, and the people they support, should not be shunned, judged, or looked down upon. They deserve our respect, understanding, and appreciation for the vital roles they play in creating a more inclusive world. It’s about letting go of fear and recognising that disability support services and the individuals they serve are integral parts of our community, deserving of the same dignity, respect, and opportunities as anyone else.

We all have the ability to contribute to humanity in meaningful ways, and sometimes that means challenging our own biases and stepping up when life presents us with an opportunity to be of service. It’s not just about opening doors; it’s about opening hearts and minds.

My mission with CoCo Support Services is to work with the community to build a more inclusive, compassionate future—one where fear and prejudice no longer dictate our actions, but where understanding and humanity lead the way.

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