One of the Best Friendships Going
Ron Andrews and volunteer Alan Stacey have been friends for fifteen years. They met at Karingal’s supported employment service, Mollers Lane.
"I’ve tried to convert him to barracking for the Kangas but he won’t. He sticks with the saints. We agree on everything but the football," Alan says.
"On Saturdays we often go to the Botanic gardens. I can forgive Ron for never going fishing. Once we went to Black Rock where my dad drowned. Dad and I were fishing there when a wave swept him off the rocks. Ron and I shared a moment together."
After many years in institutions across Victoria, Ron now lives independently in a unit attached to Karingal House.
"If I hadn’t been a volunteer I wouldn’t have one of the best friendships going. If you could spend a few days with Ron and listen to him tell you about his life you’d really learn something. What’s happened to Ron when he was in the institutions should never have happened. Nobody should be treated like he was," Alan says.
"I’ve been a real rolling stone," Ron says.
"When I had a nervous breakdown I was put into a hospital and then I kept moving. It was rough. Some places were like a prison; big fences and empty yards you walked around. I had shock therapy which gave me bad dreams."
"The last time I saw my brother was when he visited me in hospital to tell me mum had died. That was many years ago. The institutions don’t treat you as a living person with a soul."
"I introduce Alan as my brother. He’s a good chap. We both have a sense of humour and so we can share a joke."