The South African government has been forced to apologise to an Adelaide woman who has a severely disabled son and is at risk of homelessness, after a civil servant offered her bizarre new-age magic advice.
Katie Fattel’s 4-year-old son Cassian acquired cerebral palsy after surviving a near-drowning in a backyard pool in 2021, meaning he is unable to hold up his legs or neck without assistance.
The family, which includes her husband and six other children, has until September to find a new home due to water damage to their current private rental property.
They were told the private rental system could not provide the home modifications needed for Cassian’s condition, so they asked the state for help.
But Fattel, 40, was advised by a public servant to use “spells” to “manifest” a home because of a shortage of public housing in South Australia.
Ms. Fattel said 7News The inappropriate advice ignored the fact that for her son, a home “is a matter of life or death.”
When she applied for public housing in January, her case was upgraded to category one due to family needs.
But when the mother of seven asked how long it would take to get a house, an SA Housing Trust employee emailed her links to a new-age “manifestation spells” website for getting a house.
The South African government has been forced to apologise to an Adelaide woman who has a severely disabled son and is at risk of becoming homeless. Katie Fattel and Cassian are pictured
A public official offered Ms. Fattel some strange, new-age magic advice (pictured)
Ms. Fattel was also told where she could buy a tent and where she could pitch one.
The mother said her heart sank and she couldn’t believe it when she received the emails.
“Without a home, Cassian will not survive,” she said. “He relies on multiple life support devices, he has very expensive equipment. He requires 24/7 care.”
Despite the bizarre advice, Ms Fattel said her social worker was a “lovely person” who should not be sacked and showed the desperate situation caused by the housing crisis.
“I think she just didn’t know what to do… I think she had good intentions,” Fattel said.
“She saw Cassian and I in crisis, she knows our situation in a way that the people at the top don’t. They are very removed from the reality of people in crisis.”
South Africa’s Human Services Minister Nat Cook (pictured) said the manifestation advice given to Ms Fattel “did not meet expectations”.
South Africa’s Minister for Human Services, Nat Cook, and Minister for Housing, Tom Koutsantonis, apologised to Ms Fattel for the response she received.
“Everything is being done to ensure Katie has housing,” Ms Cook said.
The Minister said the demonstration advice given to Ms Fattel “did not meet expectations”.
“That’s not the kind of response I’ve seen before… and I know the department will provide the education and support needed for the worker and other workers who are providing responses to people.”