Clare Stewart on Disability, Leadership and Accessible Housing

In this episode, Clare Stewart, CEO of Youngcare and former Mayor of Noosa, joins Peta to share her powerful story of resilience, disability, and purpose.

At just 23 years old, Clare was struck by a garbage truck while out for a morning run. She spent six months in hospital and underwent 37 surgeries to save her legs.

Twenty-five years on, she’s leading one of Australia’s most respected disability organisations, advocating for accessible housing, dignity, and choice for young people with high care needs.

Clare and Peta discuss how lived experience shapes authentic leadership, the reality of accessibility in everyday life, and the urgent need to rethink how Australia houses and supports disabled people.

Connect:Youngcare:

Website: youngcare.com.au

Instagram: @youngcareoz

LinkedIn: Youngcare Australia

YouTube: YoungcareOz

Peta Hooke:

Instagram: @petahooke

Website: www.icantstandpodcast.com

Email: icantstandpodcast@gmail.com

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Episode transcript:

Peta: Hello, and welcome to the I Can't Stand Podcast, the show that explores what it's like to live with a disability. I'm Peta Hooke, I have cerebral palsy, and I'm your host. Each week I sit down with remarkable people who's lived experiences and perspectives are reshaping how disabilities understood, not just within our community, but by non disabled people too. This week, I'm joined by Clare Stewart, the CEO of Young Care. Clare's connection to Young Care goes back almost two decades, from volunteering in the early days and now leading the organization into its twentieth year. Her story is truly extraordinary. In two thousand, she was out for a morning run and she was struck by garbage truck. She spent six months in hospital and underwent thirty seven surgeries to save her legs. Her recovery, resilience, and drive has shaped every part of her leadership and also her life. Claire's warmth, humor and courage makes this a truly fantastic conversation. So without any further ado, let's get into it.

Clare Stewart: Thank you very much, Peta for having me on your show. It's an absolute privilege to talk to you. Today, so thank you. My name is Claire Stewart. I'm the CEO of young Care, which is a national not for profit helping young people with high care needs, providing dignity, hope and choice for them through housing accommodation which is appropriate through grants, through our connect line, and our advocacy.

Peta: That Is amazing and so needed because particularly when you're going to look at housing when you have a disability, it can be so complicated. As you well known your work, Claire, I know you've been part of young Care for a very long time. You started in two thousand and six. What first threw you to the organization?

Clare Stewart: Well, it was interesting because I had myself suffered a catastrophic accident in two thousand when I was hit on a pedestrian crossing by a garbage truck and the truck was on my legs for thirty seven minutes and I was conscious the whole time. So I was rushed to hospital and sort of spent six months there fighting for my life and also to learn to walk again. I've had thirty seven operations on both legs, so you know, for years and years, as you do, you know, this hazy fog of sort of trauma recovery, and it came to a point about five years later, at the end of two thousand and five. I had been living in Sydney and was looking to relocate back to Brisbane and came on board as a volunteer as the first volunteer for Young Care in two thousand and six, and it was an incredible mission and an incredible cause and it still is today.

Peta: It's very clear you're very passionate, so you're definitely the right fit for this sort of organization, I can tell Claire. Obviously, I never know whether people are going to speak about their disability on this show, and I always pre send the questions and make sure people are comfortable. But you've gone straight in there, which I really love.

Peta: Today is sort of an interesting time of the year for you because I know yesterday, the eighteenth of August, was actually the anniversary. So talk me through how you felt yesterday and what you normally do on that day or whether it's just a normal day for you.

Clare Stewart: Yes, So yesterday was eighteenth of August two thousand was when I had the accident. And you always remember time and place, you know, almost to the second, and yeah, it was it was twenty five years yesterday, and the eighteenth of August is always going to be, you know, a date that I reflect and I remember. But I'm also incredibly grateful, you know, for all the blessings that I've had since then, through the opportunities. There's that great line. You can't be defined by your adversity. And there are many things in life that I've done badly, you know, just ask my three children, and I continue to do them badly. But I haven't let the accident define me. In twenty five years ago, it nearly killed me. It disabled me forever. You know, it basically tore our family apart. So you know, it was an accident that was felt. The ripple effects were extreme, and you know, I'm to this day a disabled person. You know, I walk with a limp. I've got too fused agles, i have a knee that doesn't bend because most of my legs are covered in skin grafting. I'm very you know, at risk a lot for infection. Recently, you know, I had my fifth out of cellulitis when I was in hospital for you know, just that was about a couple of months ago. So I live at the repercussions of my accident every day, but I am incredibly grateful for you know, what has transpired since then, and it's been I am here because of the love and support and care of my parents, of my friends, of my doctors. But you know, also a deep belief that the accident wouldn't define me, that there would be more to my life than that accident. And I've tried to live a life over the last twenty five years that I would have lived if I hadn't have had the accident, and that was always my goal. You know. I could control where I went and what I did, I couldn't control what had happened to me, and so I've always had that in the back of my mind.

Peta: When I think about my younger self, I try to look at myself with compassion, because it's really tough when you were younger, particularly you know, I grew up with my disability. I don't know anything different, but it is such a challenge when you're a younger person with a disability. Do you view yourself of who you were before the accident, the person straight after the accident, and the person you are now you see them as three different people, or how do you view yourself?

Clare Stewart: My accident was a year before September eleven, and you know, people used to talk about pre September eleven and post September and eleven, and for a long time that's sort of you know, it was pre accident, post accident, and used to talk a lot about this is what I used to do before my accident, or I could do this, or I went here, or I was able to do that, or you know. And I say, when I had my accident, just before, when I was deciding whether or not I should go for that job, I looked at myself just a little bit longer that particular morning in the mirror. And I can't tell you why I did, but I did. And I can tell you honestly though, now the person who sits here talking to you is not the person who looked at themselves back then, prior to the accident, because so much has changed. I'm now forty eight years old, so I had my accident when I was twenty three. I've spent more of my life as a disabled person than I did as an able person. So the Claire, of course, those memories are there, and you know, your schooling, in your university years and the happiest time. You know, some of the happiest times of your life, they're always going to be there. But I you know, I just view myself as I am now every day is you live with the repercussions of the accident. But that's what you do. What is the alternative? And that's always been my thought, What is there? There is no alternative but to keep you know, to keep busy, to get busy living, as they say in that great movie The Shaw Shape, Redemption, and that has been my focus, to focus on forward, not backward.

Peta: I think my listeners often hear me say this, but we only have one life, and it's so trite to say that, but I don't want to waste what I have, and I can really see that in you as well, that you have that go get an attitude that, yes, living with the disability is very challenging at time, particularly managing pain at hear about how you manage pain going forward, because clearly, not only have you had thirty seven surgeries, but you also live with the ongoing reality of having a disability every day and how that changes as you get older. But it's so clear to me that you have a very positive outlook on life in general. And I'd love to hear about how you also manage your mental health.

Clare Stewart: Yeah, I think it's really interesting you should ask about mental health because after my accident, you know, I was it was really tough, and there were days when you know, when I was in hospital where and even the hardest part was coming out, you know where when you're in hospital, you're an institution. You're surrounded by sick people who're founded by elderly people. You know, you're doing well next to the person who's eighty five next to you, you know, like, so you were very much institutionalized. Was when I came out of hospital, you know, sort of over six months after I'd gone in, and I was still you know, I was twenty three years old, turning twenty four, and you know, I was a disabled person and I had gone you know in I had lived my whole life as a fully able, very fit, you know, a round ten k every day, you know, appearance, you know, esthetics, they were so important to me that as they are to so many young people, and you know, so it was a huge, huge trauma to have what you think is your you know, your greatest asset, which was my legs, though were you know, that was what I thought, you know, at twenty three, you know, you're very sort of proud of your appearance, and to have them ruined and disfigured beyond belief, and to be that disabled person, it was incredibly hard, and there were days when you know, I really didn't know if I could go on. And you know, my mother was a huge support, and she's you know, she said to me once, she said, Claire, it's not the accident that will define you, but what you do with it and where you go from here. And so I've always kept that in the back of my mind. And you know, one of my best friends said to me a few years after accident, she said, clear, you were so much more than your injuries, and that really gave me a belief that, you know, my legs didn't define me. I wasn't defined by a pair of legs, you know, I was so much more. And I think it's easy for us to always define ourselves by our shortcomings, and we shouldn't, because you know what mattered was, you know, your heart and your mind and all those things. You know. So what I had a pair of disabled, disfigured legs, who cares, you know, they're just legs. I wrote a book, and I had a book published in twenty thirteen called Standing on my Own two Feet, And I started writing down when I was in hospital, everything that was going on, you know, how I felt, really felt, you know, I never told people that, you know, I thought I didn't know if I could make it to the next day. How I felt what I was going through, and that for me was very cathartic, and it was almost like that that's where all my grief went. I wrote it down and that was my outlet. There's no point. People don't want to hear oh, you know, burden. They don't want to be burnt by someone else's you know, like they can they can be there and they can sympathize, but they're never going to truly understand. And what's the point just you know, depressing other people around you. So I kept it all internalized, you know, and there are still days when you know, not to the point there used to be where you sit down and sob and sob. But there's you know times where you know, I wish I could go for a run, I wish I could take a bike ride with my kids, or have a swim, be an active parent, you know, the if onlys, you know, very rarely, but still now and again creep in what ifs.

Peta: Obviously, as you said, it's a huge transition to go from, you know, someone who was really fit, who was sort of invested in their appearance, to being an injured person in hospital, institutionalized as you said, but also in hospital you've sort of protected from the outside world because it's so driven to you and your overall health. Everybody's focused on you. Everybody understands what's going on. But then when you get out of hospital, you're in the big, wide world where people don't have any context of what happened to you, and you've got to reevaluate who you are as a woman, as a disabled person. What was that process like and what was it like to also when you first came up against ableism, to learn that people actually viewed you differently.

Clare Stewart: Now, yeah, look, it's confronting, you know. I mean, I remember being in a wheelchair in a closed store and you can't get down the aisles because they're not wide enough. People look at you and then they look away, you know, they don't want to meet your eye. They seem to be almost embarrassed that you're in the position you're in and they're not. You cannot do the things you want to do. You can't wear the things you want to wear. You know, I had for a long time a lot of ski You know I still do. You have skin grafting, so I was getting dressings changed. I had a lot of bandages on my legs where precious stockings. I have a crush symphatic system, so I get a lot of swelling. You name it. You know, it's the You know, I don't even like to look at my legs in the mirror because they look still with you know, twenty five years on that bad So it is. It's confronting, but you have no choice. You can't control that's I can't control that situation. But I can control a whole lot of other things. And that's what I've focused on what I can do, not what I can't do and what I've lost. Focus on what I have and where to from here and moving forward.

Peta: As you said, there's nothing like getting in a wheelchair and actually trying to navigate the world to realize how inaccessible the world is, which would have given you such a great insight. So how far we actually have to go even today in twenty twenty five, to make the world more accessible. Well, from your perspective, has the biggest challenges that the community, the disability community is facing today as far as inaccessibility, but also I want to touch on housing. But if we go on inaccessibility in general.

Clare Stewart: First, I set it on a panel recently about diversity, equity and inclusion DEI, which are you know, big big words that people are talking about, you know at the moment. And I was shocked to read some of the stats around people with disabilities, that they are far less engaged in the workforce, that they earn far less money in the workforce, and these are big problems. And you know, we can talk about having an accessible workplace and isn't this great. We've got a lift and people don't have to take the stairs, But how hard is it for that person who has that disability to even get to that workplace? What does that look like? People with a disability need more time off to manage their injuries, to manage their disability, you know, more time at the physio of the doctor, whatever that may be. So you know, how does that work in a workplace? And are we providing for that? But everyone thinks, oh, well, it's you know, there's this great building here in Brisbane, and you know, the story goes a few years ago when they were opening it, very proudly standing up saying how accessible this building is in a state of the art. But when someone got in, when a person in a wheelchair got into the lift, they actually couldn't swipe the lift to their floor because it was too high. You know, like some workplaces the kitchen benches, people in wheelchairs can't reach them because they're too high. So, really, how accessible is it and what are the provisions that we are ensuring that people with a disability can actually even get into the workforce and have meaningful work whilst still needing to manage their time. I think they're all big questions, and I think those gaps are pretty shocking with when you look at disability and income, disability and participation in the workforce. I think they're gaps we need to be looking at and saying, how do we make this better?

Peta: One hundred percent. It's an area that I'm very passionate about because I really truly believe that disabled people don't have the potential realized. It's very unlikely that we get the opportunity that non disabled people get. There's no point applying to a job even if it's perfect for you if the building has a step out the front and you have a physical disability, or if you're a neurodivergent and the environment doesn't suit you. I totally agree. There's so many issues when looking at Young Care and the employment base at Young Care, talk to me about what that looks like. How many disabled people do you actually have employed.

Clare Stewart: We have a myself, I'm disabled, and we have another staff member with a disability, and we you know, we do have some in some instances where we have you know, neurodivergent staff. But what we really focus on here at Young Care is, you know, we have a work from home day which is very helpful to parents, to all all all our staff where you can have a work from home day for four days a week or more. And similarly, you know, we do have an additional workday for those who need it in regard to access, accessibility and coming into work. So you know, we are you know, we're acutely aware of it obviously, as we well should well be. You know, this this is our this is what we do. You know we've got to talk the talk, We walk the walk, you know, any event, you know, we ensure that it's accessible. We do site visits. We you know, it's first and foremost at the front of our mind for any decision we make, and it always will be and always has.

Peta: At the start of the conver I mentioned how long your relationship with young Care has been. It's been many, many years at this point. But as you mentioned at the start, you've recently been appointed CEO. Congratulations, it's a really big deal and it's amazing to see a disabled person like yourself that is clearly so passionate and intelligent to be given this opportunity. What are your top priorities for young Care sitting here today.

Clare Stewart: First is that we will continue to build specialist disability accommodation. It's what we've always done, is what we're the best in the business at. We've got a block we've been gifted ten thousand square meters of land at Bridgeman Downs and we will start building eight state of the art villas for people, you know, who need that specialist disability accommodation. We've got another block at new Market that you know, we're sort of halfway through we've got, you know, other projects on the go. So building SDA is always so important and Young Care were doing that and building that long before any government or other organization was even talking about it, so it is part of our DNA. What we are also looking at now is we are highlighting the issue and we've had a meeting with the National Disability Insurance Agency about this issue and they were not able to provide us with any answers. But our question is we want to know how many young people, and when I say young people, I'm talking eighteen to sixty five are living at home with aging parents, aging cares, and what does that number look like and at what point are those cares not going to be able to look after their child anymore because they're elderly, they're going through their own illnesses sickness. So we want those numbers and we want to be able to step in and assist those families with that transition. But first to do that, we need we need the numbers and we need the data, and this is something in the NDIA was not able to provide for us. So we will run a national campaign around those numbers and we will look at that and like to many years ago when no one was talking about young people in nursing homes. No one is talking about this issue. No one is talking about young people being cared for at home by aging carers ill cares. And at what point, as I said, are we going to need to have a major intervention nationally? We have given away twelve point two million in grants when the NDIS where people fall through the cracks, and that's so important to our organization, you know, we give it close to a million dollars a year and grants away for a lot of people who do want to stay at home. You know, we had one who, you know, a gentleman wanted it was in a wheelchair and needed some funding for a ramp, and he said, I just want to be able to get to my backyard to watch my kids play. If you have a catastrophic accident or a brain aneurysm, the NDIS will fund a bed, but we fund a companion bed so you don't lose the dignity of having your loved one be able to sleep next to you. Why should they not be able to sleep to you. So all of those things we fund and we're very proud of it and will continue to do it, but it's a challenge because you know, we have received no government We receive no recurrent government funding and never have so and we are solving a lot of the government's problems.

Peta: It just goes to show the importance of seeing disabled people as human and those examples that you've just outlined today sound so simple. And of course if you can put yourself and another person to choose, of course you want to go outside into your own backyard. Of Course you want to sleep next to your loved one if that's what you've always done, and that's what makes you feel comfortable. And that's where I think there's a real gap in where we are at the moment with NDIS funding at times to actually see us as humans from a day to day perspective and having things that might not directly relate to our disability, like having a bed for you companion doesn't directly relate to your disability. But it is all about having that dignity and equality that everybody deserves.

Clare Stewart: Absolutely and choice. Choice comes down to choice and freedom so important.

Peta: How many properties do Young Care have today?

Clare Stewart: We have built over twenty We have assisted about one hundred and seventeen some of those along the way, you know, there's been one or two where we've had partners involved, but where certainly we're coming up to about twenty two to twenty three with the newest builds. And for us, it's not just about building SDA a lot of people, it's about building the best. So we build in areas that are desirable, you know, we build properties that are excellent, that are exemplar, because why shouldn't they be. I'm really excited about Bridgeman Downs because that's going to be on ten thousand square meters of land and a lot of people. We get a lot of calls from people who have had accidents, rural accidents, and if you don't want to be in a two bedroom unit in you or one bedroom unit in the middle of town or the middle of the city, it's going to be more rural. It's going to have you know, people are going to have the opportunity to live in a different setting. And we can do this one because we've been gifted the land and that's why we can build the exemplar because we've had that support. And that's why that support, you know, that private support, that community support, that fundraising support is so important, so I'm really excited. I mean, I was a newmarket. Our home that we're building there is magnificent. It's right across the road from a park, It's in a beautiful spot in Brisbane, in a city. It's just lovely. It's very special too. We wouldn't build anything that we weren't incredibly proud of.

Peta: I haven't preempted this question, so I fully appreciate if you're not able to answer it for me.

Clare Stewart: Claire.

Peta: Last year, I'll be really quick. I got locked out of my house at eleven o'clock at night, and if I didn't have my parents to go to, I literally don't know where I could have stayed, because as a disabled person, you can't just go to a hotel and getting to bed and figure it out in the morning. I've realized there's a real gap with emergency accommodation. I'd love to hear whether that's something that Young Cares ever thought about.

Clare Stewart: That is not something that we've actually turned our minds to, but thank you for bringing that to our attention, because that's certainly something that clearly there is a need. Because I have never heard of any emergency accommodation that is accessible or so I think again, there's a gap in the market, and if young care good at doing anything, it's certainly finding those gaps and filling them. So thank you. I appreciate that.

Peta: I mean, I'm sitting here as a very privileged person, but if you ever experienced domestic violence, or you experience bushfire as we do here in this country, I've always thought what to you do if you're a disabled person and you know, I'm not able to transfer myself, so I require hoists. You know, it can be really complicated. So getting locked out of my house was a real learning experience for me. Thank you so much for your time today, Claire. I'm just gonna finish up on one last question that I always do on this podcast. The reason why I started the podcast was I was so tired of strangers asking these stupid questions about my disability while I was waiting for a coffee in the morning. I'd love to ask, what's one question you can't stare to be asked by a stranger?

Clare Stewart: Oh, did you hurt your leg?

Peta: Yeah?

Clare Stewart: And it used to really upset me. You know, I'd get into a cab and beyond a walk as is going back, you know, nineteen, eighteen years ago, twenty years ago, and I'd get in a cab and as I said, be on a walker or own people. And then you get the cab driver going what happened to you? And you get to a point where it used to really upset me. I used to think, oh god, you know, and I used to just go, oh, I just fell over at home or did something, and they're not here for the next ten minutes about how much of the accidents happen at home? And you'll be so careful? Oh god, yeah, yeah, it's it's always confronting when it does, and it always bothers me more than it should. And I'm never rude to it the person, but it does. It kind of goes God, you know, you kind of think, do I really need to be asked that question? But it is what it is.

Peta: Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the I Can't Stand Podcast. If you enjoyed today's conversation, the best way you can support the show is by sharing it with a friend or posting about it on social media, and if you have a moment, leaving a rating and review helps more people find these stories. Don't forget you can always send me an email I Can't Stand Podcast at gmail dot com, or you can follow me over on Instagram at Peterhook. I'll see you next week.

Peta: I’d like to respectfully acknowledge the Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung people of the Kulin Nation, on whose land I record this podcast. I pay my respects to Elders past and present — and especially to First Nations people who are disabled themselves.