Ashley Peacock loves spending time outdoors with animals. But as a mental health patient, the 37-year-old is allowed outside for just 90 minutes a day. His parents thought he needed specialist care but the decision is now one they “deeply regret”.
A heartwarming image of Ashley Peacock inside his new home has been released.
It's the first time Peacock has been pictured at his purpose-built house in the countryside in the lower North Island.
In an image posted by Community Connections, the company's CEO John Taylor is seen embracing Peacock during a visit to the 40-year-old's new home.
Peacock spent almost eight years locked in an isolated mental health unit where he was allowed out for just 90 minutes a day.
The 40-year-old, whose living situation was so poor the Ombudsman once labelled it "cruel and inhuman", was approved to leave his mental health unit in late August.
Peacock lives with three specialist staff, has his own room and access to a kitchen, so he can, at last, undertake one of his favourite activities - making guests a cup of tea.
The Herald understands Peacock also has a spa and has been looking forward to using it for some time.
A heartwarming image of Ashley Peacock inside his new home has been released.
Peacock and his family have since been flooded with messages of support following his move.
"This is the best news of 2018," one supporter said.
"Ashley's smile could not be any bigger - who said he would not reintegrate outside of a medieval mental hospital system. Shame on those who kept him incarcerated. Congrats to Ashley's parents and supporters for not giving up. This picture speaks a thousand words!"
The long-awaited move follows a bitter battle by Peacock's parents and supporters for his freedom, including a 2016 report on the front page of the Herald which captured national attention.
Peacock, who is autistic, intellectually disabled and experiences psychotic episodes, has lived in institutions on-and-off for 20 years as a compulsory patient under the Mental Health Act.
He was shifted to the Tawhirimatea unit on the grounds of the former Porirua Lunatic Asylum in 2007, and to its tiny "de-escalation" wing in 2010, due to increasingly violent episodes against staff.
Example of a seclusion room at a government run mental health facility.
It was supposed to be a short-term solution. However, despite repeated complaints from experts, watchdogs and his family, Peacock ended up in de-escalation permanently, allowed out just 90 minutes a day.
About half his time on the unit was spent locked in a 10sq m seclusion room which also was used as his bedroom. He spent long periods in the room, much of his time recorded as "unengaged".
At one point he was locked in for two-and-a-half years continuously, his only respite a 30-minute daily break outside.
Ashley before he was institutionalised. He loves fishing and surfing.
During that time, his condition deteriorated so much his parents now wonder if he will ever re-adjust.
"He has been institutionalised and traumatised. He's damaged," said his father Dave Peacock. "He's also going to have to learn to be a member of the community again. Human beings are social animals and he's been cut off from society."
