On behalf of Quality Trust for Individuals with Disabilities, I am proud to introduce you to the Jenny Hatch Justice Project (“JHJP”)! The JHJP is an integrated, multi-faceted resource and outreach center dedicated to advancing people with disabilities’ right to make their own choices and determine their own path and direction in life.
Margaret “Jenny” Hatch is a 29 year old woman with Down syndrome who the Washington Post describes as a “hero to the disabled.”
She never planned to be.
Instead, Jenny wanted to live her life the way she always had – deciding where to live, what to do, work and see like everyone else does. That all changed in August of 2012, when Jenny was served with a Petition attempting to put her in a guardianship, one where her guardians would have the power to make all her decisions for her – even whether to receive or withhold healthcare. Almost immediately, Jenny was placed in a temporary guardianship and forced to live in a group home, where she was cut off from her friends, removed from her job and taken from the life she made for herself in her community.
Through it all, Jenny never lost hope, never stopped insisting that she did not need a guardian, she just needed a little help. Like everyone else.
At long last, after a year of litigation and six days of trial, Jenny won the right to make her own decisions. Jenny now lives and works where she wants, has the friends she chooses, and encourages others to do the same.
Since the “Justice for Jenny” trial ended, Jenny has become a sought-after speaker, sharing her story and strength with groups across the country. The Jenny Hatch Justice Center is named in her honor, in recognition of her courage and commitment.
Source:
JennyHatchJusticeProject.org
Hopefully the Jenny Hatch Justice Project will embrace all disabled victims as well as those illegally placed in nursing homes or rehab centers and declared incapable of self-determination of their lives and assets. Even though we all wish Jenny well in her life, this serves as a reminder, that too many elders suffer the consequences of a judicial system..under the auspices of judicial "Fraternity" eb
ReplyDeleteJenny Hatch is an inspiration!
ReplyDeleteIt's not judicial "fraternity" (a euphemism) alone; it's greed that's driving the sick system.
ReplyDeleteI love her smile!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful for her. I think her popularity will shine a bright light on the situation with developmentally disabled adults.
ReplyDeleteLet's not forget who caused this year-long fiasco: Jewish Family Service of Tidewater, which was supposed to be "objective" and "neutral." Instead, JFS cut Jenny off from her friends, her long-time job, her cell phone, her computer, facebook, and even her Methodist church.
ReplyDeleteJFS' attorney, Gregory M. Pomije, incurred $21,000 in fees for bullying letters like the one that described Jenny as "defiant" for wanting to leave the group home and return to a loving family home.
The guardian ad litem "for" Jenny, Clara P. Swanson, incurred over $41,000 in fees, but spoke only twice to the couple in whose home Jenny wanted to live. This GAL even prevented her OWN CLIENT from testifying, a right guaranteed to Jenny BY LAW.
This shameful fiasco would not have occurred if not for the unethical attorneys who systematically trampled on Jenny's rights and interests, laughing all the way to the bank.
What did Jonathan Martinis, the attorney who rescued Jenny by forcing the judge to LISTEN to her, charge? Nothing, not a penny. He did an honest job of representing Jenny for free.
We are all in debt to this honest attorney.
As they say, 99% of attorneys give the rest of us a bad name.
Hooray for Jenny! We are all proud of her!
ReplyDelete