CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — More than 40 years ago, Julianne “Julie” Beckett fought to bring her daughter home.
The Cedar Rapids resident advocated to remove bureaucratic red tape
that prevented her for caring for her daughter with a disability at
home, eventually bringing her case to the halls of Congress and into the
White House.
Policymakers and disability rights advocates say Beckett was
instrumental in bringing fundamental changes to the federal Medicaid
program that ultimately improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of
families nationwide. She became a lifelong advocate for improving health
care for children with disabilities and boosting support for families
caring for loved ones with complex medical needs.
Beckett died in her Cedar Rapids home on May 13. She was 72.
Beckett’s daughter, Katie Beckett, was born in 1978 and contracted
viral encephalitis — a serious infection that causes inflammation of the
brain — when she was 6 months old. The infection resulted in a
paralyzed diaphragm, significantly affecting her ability to breathe on
her own. A tracheotomy tube was placed in her throat and she used a
ventilator to help her breathe for the rest of her life.
Katie spent the next three and a half years in the hospital.
Medicaid took over coverage of Katie’s care after her parents’
insurance hit the $1 million benefit limit for coverage. At the time,
the Medicaid program supported only hospital-based care, meaning Katie’s
care would not be covered if she were discharged home.
Beckett began advocating for the ability to care for her daughter at
home. In 1981, she contacted former U.S. Rep. Thomas Tauke, a Republican
who at the time was representing Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District.
Katie’s hospital care was about $12,000 per month, but costs would
drop to about $2,000 per month if her parents were allowed to care for
her at home with the help of home health nurses.
“It was one of those situation where the rules of government didn’t
meet the needs of the family,” Tauke told The Gazette recently.
He continued, “Julie was a very positive person. She obviously faced a
lot of frustration with the situation, but she did not let that
frustration deter her.”
Tauke brought the family’s story to Vice President George H.W. Bush,
who brought the matter to President Ronald Reagan. In a news conference
Nov. 10, 1981, Reagan cited Katie’s case as an example of “hidebound
regulation.”
The Katie Beckett Waiver was created shortly after, establishing a
program that allowed individuals with disabilities to use Medicaid
dollars to get health care while living at home or in the community.
Beckett’s efforts resulted in a fundamental shift in the federal
program. The Katie Beckett waiver became the foundation for Medicaid
community-based supports nationwide, which has gone on to improve the
quality of life of hundreds of thousands of children with complex
medical needs nationwide.
“She didn’t know that she was going to tip history the way that it
did,” said Delaine Petersen, a fellow advocate and friend of Beckett’s
since the 1980s. “Her first and foremost goal was to get that child
home, but she talked to the right people and people listened to her.”
Katie went home on Dec. 18, 1981. She went on to graduate from Mount
Mercy University in 2001 and lived independently in Cedar Rapids.
“Julie worked so hard to help Katie be as successful as she possibly could be,” Petersen said.
Last month marked 10 years since Katie Beckett died. She was 34.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Beckett continued to work with
policymakers in Washington to develop programs to improve health care
and remove barriers for children with complex needs. She was a driving
force behind legislation like the Family Opportunity Act, and pushed
federal leaders to embrace a family-centric model that better
acknowledged family members’ roles in care.
In 1992, she founded Family Voices, a national nonprofit organization
that brought together families of children with disabilities who were
advocating for health care reform.
Among her many accomplishments, she helped the organization establish
Family-to-Family Health Information Centers, federally funded resources
that now exist in all states and in five territories.
Family Voices Executive Director Nora Wells said Beckett retired from the board of directors last year after nearly 30 years.
“She was a person that wanted to fix things,” Wells said. “If there
was a problem she thought she could contribute to, she was on board. She
thought bigger than her own family, and wanted to improve systems and
make things better for people.”
In a statement on Beckett’s death, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said the
country “lost a passionate advocate for children and youth with special
health care needs and disabilities.”
“While Julie would often say she was ‘Katie Beckett’s mom,’ we also
knew her as a passionate advocate and servant leader,” Grassley wrote.
“Julie’s lifelong pursuit to improve the lives of children and youth
with special health care needs and disabilities made an impact for the
better for her community, state and nation.”
The Iowa Department of Human Services also issued a statement noting
the loss of “a pioneering advocate and champion for children.”
“Julie dedicated her life to championing the cause of children with
complex medical needs. While we mourn her passing, we also celebrate the
life of an Iowan whose work touched the lives of countless children and
families across the United States. Julie will be deeply missed,” state
officials said.
Beckett was working to improve the lives of Iowans and others across
the country up until her final days. Petersen said they had planned a
trip to Washington in June to meet with Grassley and other elected
officials to discuss their concerns about current wait times for
Medicaid members to receive services.
“She never, ever stopped being an advocate,” Petersen said. “You
don’t have to be rich, loud or famous to make a difference. I think
Julie would say, ‘I was just a mom and I did the right thing.'”
Steven A. Johnson, a Crown Point mediation and labor attorney, has
been suspended from the practice of law in Indiana after two cases he
handed off to his son resulted in two five-figure sanctions and a
default judgment of $1.8 million against his client due to negligence.
Discipline was ordered in In the Matter of: Steven A. Johnson,
21S-DI-211, after Johnson was found to have violated Indiana
Professional Conduct Rules 1.3: Failing to act with reasonable diligence
and promptness; 1.4(a)(3): Failing to keep a client reasonably informed
about the status of a matter; 1.4(a)(4): Failing to comply promptly
with a client’s reasonable requests for information; and 1.4(b): Failing
to explain a matter to the extent reasonably necessary to permit a
client to make informed decisions.
According to Thursday’s order, Steven Johnson and his son, Arthur C.
Johnson, were partners at the time and represented a transportation
company in two separate matters — a breach of contract action and a
labor dispute.
Arthur Johnson is a former Merrillville attorney who resigned
from the Indiana bar in 2021 after facing a disciplinary action for
allegedly engaging in a scheme to falsify a notice that the court’s
electronic filing system had malfunctioned to cover up his failure to
timely submit a filing. He was alleged to have violated seven rules of
professional conduct, and had previously faced $33,252.36 in sanctions
from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana in
July 2019.
In the May 5 order, it states the transportation company client’s
CEO, Danette Garza, was the sole point of contact with the law firm. The
order says Steven Johnson led Garza to believe that he would have
primary responsibility for the two matters and that Arthur Johnson would
assist him in those cases.
However, after some initial activity in the breach of contract
action, Steven Johnson delegated all internal responsibility to his son
and stepped away from the matter entirely.
The recent order says that Arthur Johnson wholly neglected the breach
of contract matter, which resulted in a series of adverse rulings.
Specifically, Arthur was largely nonresponsive to Garza’s inquiries and,
when he did respond, misrepresented the status of the case.
Steven Johnson was also nonresponsive to Garza’s inquiries.
Due to their neglect, the breach of contract action resulted in two
five-figure sanction awards and a $1.8 million default judgment against
the client. According to the high court’s order, the client only first
learned about the judgment when its bank account was seized during
garnishment proceedings.
Successor counsel later appeared for the client and moved to set aside the default judgment based on the Johnsons’ neglect.
Meanwhile, a similar sequence of events unfolded in the clients’
labor dispute. Steven Johnson, again, internally delegated the matter to
his son without informing Garza. Arthur proceeded to wholly neglect the
matter and both he and his father remained largely nonresponsive to
Garza’s inquiries.
“Respondent knew of Arthur’s failure to timely file an answer,
noncompliance with discovery, and a resulting order to show cause; yet
Respondent did not increase his attention to the case or take any
remedial steps,” Chief Justice Loretta Rush wrote in the order.
“Successor counsel appeared for Client at the show cause hearing and
thereafter worked to comply with the pending discovery orders, and
Respondent subsequently withdrew his appearance.”
The Indiana Supreme Court agreed to suspend Steven Johnson for 30
days beginning on June 20. He is prohibited from taking on any new legal
matters between the service of the May 5 order and the effective date
of his suspension and shall also fulfill all the duties of a suspended
attorney under Admission and Discipline Rule 23(26).
Once the suspension period is up, provided there are no other
suspensions in effect, Steven Johnson shall be automatically reinstated
to the practice of law, subject to the conditions of Admission and
Discipline Rule 23(18)(a). The costs of the proceedings are assessed
against him.
Steven Johnson, who was admitted to the bar in 1975, has previously
faced a “private reprimand” in a 1995 attorney discipline action,
according to court records.
(NY Post) – David Jevotovsky isn’t the same as he was before his accident — but he miraculously feels like he’s back at “100%.”
Just five years ago, the 28-year-old, first-year medical resident
didn’t know whether he’d be able to walk or talk again — let alone run
the New York City Marathon and graduate from NYU Grossman School of
Medicine — following a catastrophic, life-altering collision.
In the fall of 2017, Jevotovsky rode his bike from Kips Bay over to
the scenic West Side Highway and down to Chelsea — without wearing a
helmet — to meet classmates and study neurology.
Suddenly, the lights went out. He had been hit by a car. CONTINUE
Disgraced attorney Tom Girardi was disbarred Wednesday, with the California Supreme Court ordering the fallen attorney to pay $2,282,507 plus 10% interest for funds stolen from clients.
The State Bar Court charged
Girardi with 14 counts of violating ethics rules and California law for
stealing millions of dollars from clients. Justices adopted a State Bar
court order requiring him to
pay $2 million to four minor children of Lion Air flight 610 crash
victims. The court also required restitution to other clients, including
a bankruptcy trustee, Anthem Inc., Medicare, and Garretson Resolution
Group.
The court ordered $5,000 in sanctions and State Bar court
costs. Girardi,who according to a state probate court’s order “lacks
capacity to make health-care decisions,” was placed on the bar’s
inactive roll in January. The disbarment strikes his name from the
California Bar where he’s been a member since 1965.
The award “may be collected by the State Bar through any means permitted by law,” the court said.
The
famed Southern California attorney, who failed to ask the court to
participate in the case, is under conservatorship. The now defunct law
firm Girardi Keese was found in contempt for keeping millions of dollars
from clients. Girardi declared bankruptcy not long after admitting to
the court that he didn’t have the money he still owed the clients.
“Thomas
Girardi has done significant and profound harm to many and while his
disbarment does not minimize those impacts, it is an acknowledgement of
the people he victimized,” Bar Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona said
in an emailed statement. “As an agency, public protection is at the core
of our mission, and we are taking the necessary steps to ensure what
occurred does not happen again.”
The court’s ruling follows a legislature-ordered state audit
of the bar, which faulted the agency for decades of missteps that
provided cover for Girardi. The audit held that the California’s system
for overseeing the legal profession failed to adequately investigate attorneys “despite lengthy patterns of complaints against them.”
The
California Bar oversees more than 250,000 licensed attorneys.
California attorneys answer to the state supreme court, which licenses
and disciplines lawyers, and to the California Legislature, which
oversees lawyers under the state Business and Professions Code.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Tom Umberg called the Girardi “debacle is an embarrassment to the profession.”
“To
the bar’s credit of late they’ve taken steps in the right direction,
but the bar from my perspective needs to focus like a laser on
attorneys’ discipline, that the general public expects the bar to
protect consumers from the kind of abuse that Tom Girardi’s victims
suffered, twice,” Umberg (D) said in an interview.
The case is Girardi on Discipline, Cal., No. S273491, recommended discipline imposed: disbarred 6/1/22.
(Added quotes from Sen. Tom Umberg in 9th and 10th paragraphs)
Older adults who are lonely or unhappy with their relationships may be more vulnerable to scammers, new research suggests.
The study shows that "the quality of older adults' interpersonal
relationships has an impact on their financial vulnerability at a later
time," said study co-author Duke Han, a professor of family medicine,
neurology, psychology and gerontology at the University of Southern
California Keck School of Medicine.
Having social connections may help guard against financial abuse, in addition to its other benefits, according to the research.
"This study points to a specific factor -- social functioning -- that
could allow us to predict, and ultimately prevent, vulnerability to
financial exploitation before it happens," said co-author Aaron Lim, a
postdoctoral fellow in Han's research lab. Both Han and Lim spoke in a
school news release.
The study
included 26 adults, all at least 50 years old with an average age of
65. The researchers evaluated each participant's overall health, mental
functioning, depression, anxiety and prior history of financial exploitation.
The team then collected data at two-week intervals for six months,
measuring how well the participants' relationships were functioning.
They did this by asking how frequently they had argued with someone,
felt rejected, felt lonely, wished their relationships were better and
wished they had more friends.
Questions to estimate vulnerability were also included, such as, "How
confident are you in making big financial decisions?" and "How often
has someone talked you into a decision to spend or donate money that you
did not initially want to do?"
"When a person reported a spike in problems within their social
circle or increased feelings of loneliness, we were much more likely to
see a corresponding spike in their psychological vulnerability to being
financially exploited two weeks later," Lim said.
These results may provide insight on how to protect against common
scams, from phishing emails to calls in which a scammer pretends to be
the recipient's grandchild in urgent need of money.
Lim suggested adult children and grandchildren watch for social
upsets in their older loved ones' lives, including the death of a close
friend or an argument with a family member, to help protect them during
these vulnerable times. Organizations that support seniors can also
provide additional opportunities for social connection.
CAMDEN, NJ – A Camden man was charged by a grand jury after scamming
an elderly woman out of $16,000 by falsely claiming the money was needed
to bail her grandson out of jail.
Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced that a grand
jury charged Yadiel Gonzalez, of Atlantic Avenue in Camden, with one
count of Theft by Deception (Third Degree). The indictment was returned
on May 20 and signed by Prosecutor Coffina. An arraignment is scheduled
for July 5 in Superior Court.
“The investigation began last year when a woman contacted Palmyra
Borough police to report the scam. The investigation revealed that the
initial contact was made through a phone call. During the call, the
victim spoke to someone whose voice resembled her grandson,” the
Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office reported. “The storyline of the
scam was that her grandson had caused a traffic accident in Pennsylvania
that resulted in injuries to a pregnant woman, and had been arrested.
The money was needed to post bail.”
The victim agreed to help the person she believed was her grandson,
and handed over the money during a meeting with a courier in Palmyra.
Police said the victim was able to describe the man she paid and
provided police with the license plate number of the car he was driving.
“But the break in the case came when Palmyra Borough Police
Department Detective Arek Arargil was able to pull fingerprints from the
hand-written receipt the courier gave the victim. They were ultimately
traced to the defendant,” Coffina said.
“Schemes that prey upon the emotions of potential victims are rather
common,” Prosecutor Coffina said. “If your gut tells you something
doesn’t seem right about a financial transaction, you should follow that
instinct, step back and take another look at the situation. You do not
have to wait until you’ve been victimized to contact law enforcement. If
you think someone is trying to rip you off, call your police
department.”
Mark Murphey works at the sheltered workshop in Rolla on Tuesday, May 30, 2022. (Photo courtesy of John Murphey) Courtesy of John Murphey
By Tony Messenger
Before each Election Day, Mark Murphey generally calls his dad to set the schedule.
“Are you taking me to vote before work, or after work?” he asks.
This
year, a county clerk where he lives is trying to make sure that
conversation never happens. Last week, Phelps County Clerk Pamela Grow
told the Phelps County Commission that she planned to remove all people
from the voting rolls who have a guardian appointed by the court to
oversee some of their affairs, even if they have a court order that
preserves their right to vote.
“I
would submit, ‘How is a person who is unable to manage their own
financial affairs to be allowed to vote on someone else’s taxes?’ That’s
just kind of putting it a little bit bluntly,” Grow told the
commissioners. “I don’t mean to be hard hearted, but you have to think
about the people who are working hard, paying their taxes and voting.
Where are their rights? Elections can be won or lost with one vote.”
Murphey,
who is 35, suffers from seizures, and some mental capacity issues that
have led him to be declared disabled. He has lived on his own most of
his adult life. He works at Phelps County Industrial Solutions, the
sheltered workshop in Rolla. He has voted his entire adult life.
When his parents, John and Ann Murphey, saw Grow’s comments in the Phelps County Focus, they were dumbfounded.
“This just came out of the blue,” his
father said. “We’re amazed that she’s doing this. Mark works hard and he
pays taxes. He pays more attention to politics than I do. We went
through a lot of trouble and expense to make sure he had the right to
vote.”
Last
year, for the first time, the Murpheys sought a legal guardianship over
their son. During the COVID pandemic, John had taken him to an
emergency room, and the doctors wouldn’t let him accompany their son
because he is an adult, and they didn’t have guardianship. The family
decided to go to court to get a guardianship award to help them oversee
Mark’s medical treatment.
The
court order, issued in May after a hearing, specifically maintains Mark
Murphey’s ability to both marry and vote. That’s not good enough for
Grow. John Murphey said he went to Grow’s office to talk with her after
he saw her comments. All she did was point to the Missouri Constitution,
where Article VIII says: “No person who has a guardian of his or her
estate or person by reason of mental incapacity, appointed by a court of
competent jurisdiction and no person who is involuntarily confined in a
mental institution pursuant to an adjudication of a court of competent
jurisdiction shall be entitled to vote.”
“While some adults with disabilities
will be appointed a guardian when they need assistance with aspects of
their day-to-day affairs, Missouri cannot — and does not — automatically
strip them of the right to vote,” Rothert says. “Probate judges across
the state routinely determine that a person under guardianship retains
the capacity to vote, and local election authorities respect those
determinations. They do so because federal anti-discrimination laws and
the Missouri Constitution read as a whole require it. This is not a
decision left to the discretion of low-level ministerial officials.”
A 2007 federal appeals court decision affirmed the power of a Missouri judge to maintain a person’s right to vote even if they have a guardianship order.
Grow didn’t return a phone call seeking comment. Her actions, unfortunately, are not unique in Missouri. More voters have been removed
from the voting rolls for “mental incapacity” in Missouri than any
other state in the past three election cycles, according to federal
records. Kentucky, in second place, has removed fewer than half as many voters for the same reason since 2008.
The Murpheys grew up in St. Louis, but
moved to Rolla in 1985, where they’ve lived ever since. Ann, a retired
nurse, used to have a seat on the City Council. “Mark certainly has the
capacity to vote,” she says. In the last presidential election, Mark
Murphey voted differently than his parents did. He studies the ballot
and comes to his own conclusions, his parents say.
What
upset Laura Taylor about Grow’s comments is how the county clerk
diminished the capacity of people who have various disabilities. Taylor
runs the sheltered workshop where Mark Murphey works. About 50 other
disabled adults work there. Some of them have guardians; some don’t.
“The
thing that stuck out to me about her comments was she really devalued
the individual,” Taylor says. Now, some of her employees, including Mark
Murphey, might lose their ability to vote. “The people who I work with
are extremely hard working. They pay their taxes just like everybody
else does. I have individuals here under guardianship who are very
capable of making an informed decision.”
The
Murpheys went public with their story, they say, because they want to
make sure people know this is happening, so they can advocate for their
loved ones if Grow’s actions are adopted in other counties.
“Why
she’s decided to do this now is beyond us,” John Murphey says. “It’s
not something I really want to get mixed up in but it’s my son. How they
can arbitrarily and unilaterally take his rights away is beyond me.”
LOS ANGELES -- The presiding justice of the California appeals court in Sacramento has retired as part of a punishment announced Wednesday for delays in deciding 200 cases over a decade that cost litigants money and some criminal defendants their freedom.
Justice Vance Raye agreed to step down from the Third District Court of Appeal as part of a public admonishment for excessive delays that lasted years in some cases, the Commission on Judicial Performance said.
“Justice Raye engaged in a pattern of delay in deciding a significant number of appellate cases over a lengthy period,” the commission said. “He failed to encourage and adopt reasonable procedures to ensure that priority and older cases were decided first.”
While there was a high volume of cases in the court, the commission said that alone couldn’t explain the delays because not all justices had similar backlogs.
California law requires that judges' salaries be withheld if they issue decisions more than 90 days after hearing arguments. But there are no other specific time limits on how long appellate courts take and no rules over how long cases can languish before a case is submitted after argument.
Raye
never violated the rule that would have withheld his paycheck, but
delays prior to arguments dragged on nearly eight years in a civil case
and more than 8.5 years in a criminal matter involving a juvenile.
“In
some cases, the appeals became moot as a result of the passage of
time,” the commission said. “Some defendants in criminal cases served
time that would not have been served had the appellate decision been
issued at an earlier date, and others had served their full term of
probation, subject to conditions that were ultimately found to be
improper.”
There was no evidence Raye intentionally disregarded his duty, the commission said.
Raye
agreed with the commission's findings and stipulated with the
discipline, according to the order for public admonishment. He agreed
not to serve as a judicial officer again.
An attorney for Raye did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
Raye,
an Oklahoma native, was a U.S. Air Force prosecutor at Beale Air Force
Base near Marysville before joining the California attorney general's
office. He served as deputy legislative secretary and legal affairs
secretary to Gov. George Deukmejian.
Deukmejian,
a Republican, appointed Raye to Sacramento Superior Court in 1989 and
then to the appeals court two years later. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger,
also a Republican, appointed Raye as presiding justice in 2010.
As
the court's administrative judge, Raye was responsible for leading the
court, establishing policies, supervising personnel, promoting access to
justice and providing a forum for fair and “expeditious resolution of
disputes,” according to California court rules.
Raye
authored a unanimous opinion a year ago upholding Gov. Gavin Newsom’s
use of emergency powers to make far-reaching policies during the
COVID-19 pandemic. The opinion overturned a lower court finding that the
Democrat had done too much unilaterally.
Cody L. Baker, 37, New London, is charged with felony intimidation of
a victim, criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct involving
elderly victims, and causing mental harm to a child.
On April 12, New London Police Officer Mike Harlow and Sgt, Nick Kamba responded to a report of possible elder abuse.
The caller said she was concerned with how Baker was treating his grandparents, who are in their early 80s.
According to the criminal complaint, she said they were afraid to
call police when he was around, but he was currently with his probation
officer.
The couple told the officers that the grandmother had been on the
phone the prior week with the woman who had called police. When Baker
overheard the grandmother explain how he had lost his job, he became
angry.
The grandmother said he began yelling at her for talking about him.
He allegedly broke a toy table, broke the phone and threatened to kill
her.
The grandfather said he heard Baker banging around in the kitchen, then saw Baker cutting himself with a large knife.
The couple told police that Baker damaged their doors and walls on several occasions.
They said they did not feel safe and wanted Baker to leave.
When Baker arrived and saw the officers, he became angry, according to the complaint.
Baker told police that he cut himself with the knife because that is how he deals with things.
On March 29, Judge Vicki Clussman placed Baker on two years of
probation after he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of reckless
endangerment with a weapon and disorderly conduct as acts of domestic
abuse.
Baker is currently in Waupaca County jail on a probation hold.
"They (state court judges) are constrained as to what they can do. They can't leave a vulnerable adult with no assistance or help," said Sally Holewa, North Dakota state court administrator.
By David Olson
JAMESTOWN, N.D. — A North Dakota guardianship service tied to a
couple who were convicted of misusing a client's financial card and who
were found in a civil case to have mishandled a family trust is still
handling guardianship cases.
That is largely because when it comes
to finding guardians, judges in North Dakota have few options to choose
from, according to a high-ranking official in the state court system.
Guardians
serve a critical role in making financial and medical decisions for
people who judges have found cannot make such decisions for themselves.
"They
(state court judges) are constrained as to what they can do. They can't
leave a vulnerable adult with no assistance or help," said Sally
Holewa, North Dakota state court administrator.
Holewa said a federal criminal case and recent civil case in state court underscore the challenges judges face.
In the federal case, Tim and Delyte Koropatnicki, who are husband and
wife and live in the Pingree area, were convicted in 2015 of charges
relating to the misuse of a client's electronic benefit transfer card
through a Jamestown-area company that Delyte Koropatnicki founded called
DKK Guardianship and Conservatorship Services.
In that case, Tim
Koropatnicki pleaded guilty to one felony count of unauthorized use of
benefits and Delyte Koropatnicki pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count
of conversion of public money, property or records.
In the civil
case in state court, the pair are in the process of appealing a civil
judgment of more than $800,000 after a judge ruled the couple and other
defendants named in the case, including DKK Guardianship and
Conservatorship Services, committed a breach of trust and behaved
fraudulently in the handling of a family trust.
After the
Koropatnickis were charged in federal court in 2014, state judges
removed DKK Guardianship and Conservatorship Services from a number of
guardianship cases, court records show.
However, because of a shortage of private guardianship services, many guardianship cases were given back to DKK, Holewa said.
She
added that even if the civil judgment against the Koropatnickis and DKK
is upheld on appeal, it's likely judges will continue to allow the
company to handle guardianship cases, simply because there are no
alternatives.
Contacted by phone and asked whether she or her
husband had any comment, Delyte Koropatnicki declined to comment on the
federal criminal case, or the civil case now before the North Dakota
Supreme Court.
However, she told The Forum she can confirm there
is a shortage of businesses willing to take on guardianship cases in the
state and she said filling that need is the aim of the business she
founded and co-owns.
"There is a definite need and you try to do your job. That's what we were trying to do," Delyte Koropatnicki said.
'Serious improprieties'
After Tim and Delyte Koropatnicki were convicted in U.S.
District Court in 2015 of knowingly converting a client's benefit
transfer card for their own use they were sentenced in April of 2015 to
18 months probation and ordered to perform 100 hours of community
service.
They were also ordered to pay $6,630 in restitution to the federal government.
As
a condition of probation, the Koropatnickis were prohibited from
serving in any capacity over the financial affairs of any person for the
duration of their probation, though Delyte Koropatnicki was allowed
during that probation period to continue guardianship of people she had
maintained a longstanding fiduciary relationship with.
In March of
2018, Lana Hylden of Park River, filed a civil suit in Stutsman County
District Court alleging the Koropatnickis and DKK Guardianship and
Conservatorship Services caused damages in the hundreds of thousands of
dollars by mishandling the administration of a trust established by
Hylden's mother, the late Janice Hofmann.
The suit also claimed
the couple charged dubious fees to the trust, which the suit claimed the
Koropatnickis did nothing to earn.
The Koropatnickis filed papers in court denying the claims and asked that the suit be dismissed.
In
November 2021, state District Judge Tristan Van de Streek found that
the Koropatnickis had violated their federal probation by continuing to
engage in transactions involving the Hofmann family's trust and that the
Hofmann family lost $150,000 in rental income on land the family owned
because of how the Koropatnickis administered the trust.
In his findings and order of judgment, Judge Van de Streek wrote:
"The
court concludes there were serious improprieties by defendants which
not only bolster the conclusion that they committed a breach of trust,
but also behaved fraudulently."
The judge also noted that Tim
Koropatnicki rented the Hofmann family's land for below-market prices to
a man Tim Koropatnicki did personal business with.
In his
judgement, Judge Van de Streek awarded Hylden $264,957 in damages. He
also ordered the reimbursement and trebling of $86,450 in fees the
defendants had collected from the Hofmann family trust, for a total
additional award of $259,350.
The judge also directed that
$155,325 be set aside and that it ultimately be awarded to Hylden, or
returned to the defendants, depending on the outcome of efforts to
mitigate tax issues arising from the defendants' handling of the
financial affairs of Janice Hofmann, who died in 2017.
The total dollar amount defendants are responsible for stands at more than $843,000, according to court records.
The civil judgment has been appealed to the North Dakota Supreme Court.
'Only game in town'
DKK Guardianship and Conservatorship Services has about 180
open guardianship cases and two conservatorship cases under its purview,
according to Holewa.
What state officials don't know is how many
individuals have DKK as their representative payee for things like
Social Security checks, or veterans benefits, she said.
One reason
judges returned guardianship cases to DKK after taking them away was
because replacement guardians had a hard time performing their duties
due to the fact DKK remained the ward's representative payee for things
like Social Security, according to Holewa.
"It's a total
disconnect," she said. "For the most part, they (federal agencies)
operate by their rules and we operate under ours. DKK was able to
rebuild their clientele because there were no other options in the
guardianship area."
"In many instances, they (DKK) ended up
getting cases back at some point, or new cases, because they are the
only game in town," Holewa said. "If there is no other viable option
brought forth, judges are limited. They have to rule on what is in front
of them, so even though they have concerns about the agency, if the
petitioner isn't bringing forth anyone and they know there are no other
entities in the state willing to take the case, then they're caught in
this bind where the ward is in desperate need of help and can't go
without a guardian. It's a real dilemma."
A message left with the Social Security Administration seeking comment for this story was not returned.
Historical perspective
Until the 1980s, every county in North Dakota had a public
administrator who was elected and whose job was to be the guardian of
last resort for adult wards who had no one to turn to for guardianship
services.
That system has since unraveled and North Dakota judges
now often turn to private guardianship services when a relative cannot
be found who is willing to take on the job.
Around the year 2013,
North Dakota officials talked about setting up a guardianship division
in state government, but opted instead to establish something called
PASS funding, which provides limited funding to pay professional
guardians, Holewa said.
Funding for PASS is capped at 120 cases,
though Holewa said the program has helped to attract a new professional
guardianship services company to North Dakota and she said Lutheran
Social Services of Minnesota has picked up a few guardianship cases as
well.
Sally Holewa, North Dakota state court administrator
Forum file photo
About nine professional guardianship services companies operate in
the state, according to information from the North Dakota court system.
At
the start of the year, North Dakota had about 3,300 active adult
guardianship cases and of those about 1,053 were managed by professional
guardians.
The rest, or about 2,000 cases, involved a family member who is a guardian.
Still,
the demand for professional guardianship services remains greater than
the supply, according to Holewa, who said North Dakota lawmakers are
continuing to look for ways to close the gap.
Since 2013, that
effort has received guidance from a guardianship work group established
by North Dakota Supreme Court Justice Gerald VandeWalle.
The work
group includes judicial officials as well as representatives from the
state Department of Human Services, the Association of Counties, the
North Dakota Guardianship Association and attorneys who practice in the
area of guardianships and conservatorships.
The group has been
working to strengthen the protections afforded to wards and to clarify
aspects of the guardianship and conservatorship statutes, said Holewa
who is a member of the work group.
In the North Dakota
Legislature's 2021 session, a bill was introduced in the House that
would have established an independent commission on guardianships.
However, that bill was defeated in the House.
North Dakota state Sen. Tim Mathern, D-Fargo, speaks at a news conference on Sept. 21, 2021, in Fargo.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
Tim Mathern, a longtime Democratic state senator, is an
advocate for establishing a single state entity dedicated to improving
the delivery of guardianship services, asserting it would help
legislators make better decisions in that area.
"Right now, five
different entities come to the Legislature and they all have a different
slant on the need and a different slant on who should be funded," he
said, adding that he believes that "kind of mix of testimony" leads to
underfunding.
Mathern, of Fargo, called the situation a triple
problem that involves a complex mix of guardianship types, finding
individuals willing to become guardians and the legal cost of getting a
guardianship established.
"It is the responsibility of the
Legislature to pay these costs in many of these cases. So, that's the
struggle before us," said Mathern, who added that establishing an
independent state office to deal with guardianship issues would be
advantageous in the same way it was helpful to establish a public
defender system to provide legal representation for indigent defendants.
'Short of people everywhere'
Sen. Judy Lee, R-West Fargo
Submitted photo
Sen. Judy Lee, R-West Fargo, another long-serving legislator,
said the issue of meeting North Dakota's guardianship needs is a
longstanding one with no clear solutions.
"The problem right now isn't even finding money, it's finding people to do it," Lee said.
"Compensation
can be increased and people might still not want to deal with this,"
Lee said, likening the dearth of people willing to handle guardianship
services to the general workforce shortage facing businesses and
community organizations across the country.
"We're short of people everywhere," Lee said.
Cynthia
Feland, a state district court judge and chair of the guardianship work
group, provided testimony to the Legislature in 2021, before House
members voted to nix the idea of creating an independent state office to
address guardianship needs.
In her testimony, Feland noted that
over the past several legislative sessions lawmakers passed significant
statutory amendments to improve and strengthen procedures in
guardianship and conservatorship cases.
She stressed, however,
that the need for guardianship services continues to outpace the supply
and Feland said a subgroup of the guardianship work group came to the
conclusion that an independent state agency was the best option among
several outlined in a 2012 report that emerged from a legislative study
on guardianship needs.
Feland told lawmakers that professionals in
both the medical and long-term care fields have expressed shock over
how many individuals have no one in their life to turn to for
assistance.
She said a survey of care facilities found that about
124 individuals were in need of a guardian, but no one was available to
serve in the role.
"Most difficult are those situations where a
guardian has been removed due to exploitation issues, or in some
instances death, with no mechanism for identifying a replacement,"
Feland said.
"In the direst situations," she added, "professional
guardians have stepped up and agreed to take on the case without being
provided any additional compensation."
In North Dakota, the word
"ward," as it applies to an adult, is someone who the court has found
incompetent, a legal term that means a person is not able to make normal
adult decisions in a rational manner.
Someone can only be declared incompetent and in need of a guardian through a court process.
Adults who have no one willing or able to be their guardian generally have a professional guardian appointed to assist them.
Decades ago, that would have been the county public administrator in North Dakota.
Today,
it is usually a private guardianship service, which may be partly paid
for through a combination of PASS funds, money the ward has, and dollars
from veterans funds or Social Security funds, if the ward is eligible
for such payments.
If a ward is developmentally disabled, Catholic
Charities becomes their guardian and the funding comes from a contract
that agency has with the state.
However, there is a waiting list
for both Catholic Charities and private guardianship services, because
there isn't enough funding for either system, Holewa said.
Judge
Feland said the importance of fixing the guardianship shortage cannot be
overstated and she said even though the Legislature declined to
establish a guardianship commission in its last session she is hopeful
the idea will eventually catch on with lawmakers.
"I was very
disappointed that the legislation did not pass, because while it would
not have fixed the problem overnight, it definitely would have put us on
that track to be able to address this issue in a meaningful fashion,"
Feland told The Forum.
She added that when it comes to fighting for a guardianship commission, she's not admitting defeat.
"I'm trying to figure out if I need to tweak it somehow," Feland said.
Wendy Williams
has scored a partial victory in trying to gain access to her bank
accounts, but the former daytime talk queen still isn’t able to sign her
own checks – and that’s not cool with her.
“Please be advised
that Wendy is not in agreement with the appointment of a financial
guardian by the court,” Williams lawyer LaShawn Thomas said today of a
New York Supreme Court judge deciding on May 19 to put a as yet unnamed
guardian in charge of her cash until at least July. “Wendy has been very
clear that she does not want a financial guardian to tell her what she
can and cannot do with her money,” the Miami-based attorney added.
Off the air due to Graves disease and other health issues, Williams has been in battle for most of this year with Wells Fargo
over being denied entry her likely not insignificant accounts. In a
vide posted online back in March where she accused her ex-manager Bernie
Young of taking $100,000 out of her accounts to get a guardianship put
in place, Williams adopted her trademark blunt style: “I want my money,
this is not fair.” – as you can see below:
In the still sealed
case, the multinational financial services company essentially froze
Williams’ accounts after concerns about the host being of “unsound mind”
were raised by a former advisor. “Wells Fargo’s priority is the
financial well-being of Ms. Williams and the preservation of her
privacy,” the bank said in a statement back in March, when a temporary
guardian was appointed. “As we have expressed to the Court, Wells Fargo
is open to working with Ms. Williams’ counsel to release funds directly
to her creditors for bills historically and regularly paid from her
accounts.”
Today, Wells Fargo had “no comment” on the new guardianship, which
has basically removed them from any operational role in the dispute.
However, Williams’ lawyer had a lot more to say on the matter, including pointing a finger at the bank.
“Wendy
feels that she is capable of hiring her own financial advisors who work
for and report to her and not to the court,” Thomas asserted. “We
believe that this story has been put forth in an attempt to lessen the
public outcry and regulatory scrutiny mounting around Wells Fargo due to
their actions.”
Back for a 13th season,The Wendy Williams Show started bringing guest hosts on-board in January for the absent Williams. In late February, Lionsgate’s Debmar-Mercury, the producer-distributor behind The Wendy Williams Show officially turned the lights off and unveiled a new syndicated show fronted by The View co-host Sherri Shepherd. In a recent phone interview with GMA, Williams insisted she is feeling “very well” and plans to return to the small screen soon-ish “to do my thing.”
MERCEDES, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The former city attorney of
Mercedes was indicted on charges of program theft and plead not guilty.
Juan R. Molina was arrested on Thursday and charged by a grand jury
for the offense of federal program theft, according to court documents
obtained by ValleyCentral.
Molina was the Mercedes city attorney of Mercedes from August 2014 to February 2019.
The indictment stated that Molina, under a Federal program, “did embezzle, steal, obtain by fraud” a total of at least $5,000.
The funds were then deposited to an account used for real estate
development in, or around, Mercedes, according to the indictment.
ValleyCentral reached out to the City of Mercedes who released the following statement:
“The City of Mercedes will continue to cooperate with federal officials as we seek justice for Mercedes.”
Records show that Molina was released after entering a bond amount of $30,000.
Homeless people line Ellis Street between Taylor and Jones streets in the Tenderloin in March.
As San Francisco grapples with overlapping crises of homelessness,
drug overdoses and lagging mental health resources, political momentum
is building toward expanding the use of conservatorships to legally
compel more people into treatment.
But the revival of forced
treatment has prompted deep concern among mental health and disability
advocates, as well as civil liberties experts. Conservatorships have
traditionally been reserved for last-resort cases where severely
disabled individuals are unable to care for their own basic needs, not
street-level homelessness or drug issues. Moreover, critics note that
compelling people into treatment falls flat when there are still too few
housing options and care facilities.
“This is definitely something I’ve noticed is gaining support over the
last five years,” said Raia Small, an organizer with the San Francisco
advocacy organization Senior and Disability Action. “And I have a lot of
concerns about it. This is not what people who are homeless are asking
for or people who have struggled to access housing or treatment care.”
There are different types of conservatorships in California,
including mental health conservatorships specifically for people who are
considered to be “gravely disabled,” meaning they have a mental health
disorder that prevents them from providing their own food, clothing and
shelter. Those who are conserved for mental disabilities can be subject
to confinement in a locked facility, although some may live in open
facilities or group homes.
New proposals
Rising
rates of homelessness and overdoses across California backdrop the
growing interest in conservatorships. While San Francisco saw a 3.5%
drop in homelessness over the pandemic, likely due to a dramatic
increase in funding for homelessness services and housing through
Proposition C, many individuals still can’t access the kind of housing
or care they need.
Gov. Gavin Newsom recently unveiled a proposal,
called CARE Court, which would connect individuals with a 12-month
court-ordered care plan. It targets those living with homelessness,
substance use disorder and schizophrenia or another psychotic disorder.
It’s an attempt to prevent incarcerations, but if participants can’t
successfully complete their care plans, they could be placed under a
conservatorship. That means the court would appoint someone else to take
over the individual’s finances, medical and other important personal
decision-making, and could place the individual into a locked mental
health facility.
The governor’s plan, which is now making its way through the state
legislature, would also enable family members, first responders,
clinicians and others to refer an individual to CARE Court.
There’s
also a plan by Michael Shellenberger, an author and now a gubernatorial
candidate. He has proposed creating Cal-Psych, a statewide psychiatric
and addiction care system that comes alongside his proposal that
California should ban illegal outdoor camping.
Although the legal
mechanics and heavy-handedness differ between the two approaches, they
find common ground in a philosophy that people experiencing homelessness
and substance use disorder need a stronger push toward care.
Mayor
London Breed has backed a handful of state bills aiming at reforming
conservatorships, citing frustration with a lack of options for
residents she sees struggling in the streets.
But those who work
closely with conservators across the state say there are vast
misunderstandings from all sides about their profession. Even those who
support increased funding and resources for conservatorships question
the expansion of eligibility criteria.
“Half the state thinks we
conserve too many people, and the other half thinks we don’t conserve
enough,” said Scarlet Hughes, executive director of the California State
Association of Public Administrators, Public Guardians, and Public
Conservators. “The public thinks, ‘just put them on conservatorship and
then you can control them.’ Not so much. We don’t have power and control
over their lives to the extent people think we do.”
Public conservator programs are guided by state law but do not
receive any state or federal funding; counties fund the programs
entirely. That can create discrepancies on a county-to-county level
about how conservatorships operate. And it puts financial strain on
caseloads for public conservators who already oversee unsustainable
caseloads, Hughes said.
“Most of our members have caseloads of 60
to 80 clients, and you’re totally responsible for their life. We see
clients about once every three months, which isn’t enough,” said Hughes.
“We make really critical life decisions for people. You want to have as
reasonable of a caseload as possible, but the funding structure hasn’t
changed in 40 years.”
Conservators in San Francisco have a more
moderate caseload of around 40 conservatees, according to Jill Nielsen,
deputy director of programs at San Francisco Human Services Agency, who
oversees the county’s public conservator program. Most of their
communication with clients is over the phone or in person at residential
facilities where clients live.
“The conservator is an advocate.
They will call and ask for help with issues that may come up at the
client’s facility, for example. We are trying to help them problem solve
or support effective decision-making,” she said, adding that The City
supports Newsom’s CARE Court proposal. “The goal is to move our clients
into recovery and out of conservatorship.”
Meanwhile, legal experts are raising the alarm about infringing on people’s rights.
By
expanding eligibility for conservatorships to individuals who could
benefit from wider access to other solutions like housing, health care
and overdose prevention, “you’re taking people’s liberties away without
committing a crime,” said Kim Lewis, managing attorney at the National
Health Law Program. “These laws are designed to seek this coercive
compliance.”
A San Franciscoexperiment
Here
in San Francisco — often the focal point of national conversations
around homelessness, substance use and mental illness — public
conservatorships are not new, or entirely rare.
In fact, San
Francisco has a higher number of conservatorships compared with 12 other
large California counties according to a January report from the Budget
and Legislative Office. And that number has been on the rise in San
Francisco since 2014, going from 626 in 2014 to 769 in 2020.
At
the same time, referrals to conservatorships have exceeded discharges
over the last four years, the report shows, meaning more people are
being conserved for longer periods of time. Discharges dropped by 16%
from 2014 to 2020.
But some local officials say it hasn’t been enough.
“I
think there plainly are lots of people dying because they are not
getting the right kind of care and we ought to do much better job.
Sometimes that requires caring for them even when they insist they don’t
want or need it,” said San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who
has advocated for using conservatorships to get more people into
treatment when other interventions have failed.
The supervisor
points out how increasingly common it has become to see people suffering
on the streets who may not voluntarily take themselves in for care.
“This
is not a new thing; this has been an option in California for decades,”
Mandelman said “But the need for it becomes more acute as the
institutions that might once have held some of these folks have closed
and we are now in the process of decarcerate and closing prisons and
jails. There are many people with great needs who need intervention and
care and oversight.”
In 2018, California opened a new housing conservatorship program to
compel individuals with mental illness and substance use disorders into
treatment. San Francisco officials gave it a shot. The City was facing a
disastrous homelessness and substance use disorder crisis, and local
leaders were ready to try all possible solutions.
The 2018 state
bill, SB 1045, created the Housing Conservatorship Program for unhoused
adults with serious mental illness and substance use disorder. The
program targeted individuals frequently landing in places such as jail
or the emergency room. Between 50-100 people were estimated to qualify
for the program in San Francisco.
Only three individuals have been treated under the program so far, and one of those is no longer under conservatorship.
Those
who initially supported the program were hopeful it could connect a
small group of vulnerable individuals to the treatment they may not even
recognize could help them.
But the bill was watered down in the
legislative process, making it more difficult to qualify, its supporters
say. An early version of the bill would have required only three 5150
holds within a year, meaning an individual is involuntarily detained for
a 72-hour psychiatric hospitalization. The final version required eight
annually before steps toward conservatorships could be initiated.
“It
is very disappointing that at this point we have not been able to
utilize the housing conservatorship program to the extent that we had
hoped,” said Neilson. “Many eligibility requirements were added into the
bill and the number of individuals who we have been able to help is
very small.”
The flopped results of the program have led some homelessness and
mental health advocates to question and oppose the expansion of who
could qualify for court-ordered care when they say there’s little
evidence that expanding eligibility for conservatorships could solve
homelessness or drug overdose rates.
“Talking about expanding ways
to lock people up is very politically popular. Unfortunately, it
doesn’t work. That is our system already,” said Jennifer Friedenbach,
executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness. “We are totally
dependent on (72-hour holds) to connect people with the mental health
system. Most people’s first experience with the mental health system is
in the back of a police car in handcuffs.”
Friedenbach and others
argue instead for increasing the availability of affordable and
supportive housing and low-barrier health care. People in crisis often
must wait weeks and months for placements into residential treatment in
San Francisco.
Many cases, few resources
Before
1960, most mental health services took place in large state-run
hospitals known for having disastrous conditions and rampant abuse and
segregation. In 1967, the Lanterman-Petris-Short (LPS) Act created a
statewide civil process for the involuntary detention of people who
could not care for themselves due to mental disabilities.
Many
state-run hospitals closed as a result of the reform, which aimed to
improve patient experiences and more clearly define rights. But adequate
funding for alternative care facilities never followed, leaving a major
gap in the state’s mental health care system.
Moreover, conserving people living on the street will not guarantee
they have timely access to housing or high-quality mental health
treatment.
“There is a belief we can fix homelessness like somehow
we have a magic wand, but we don’t have any more access to (housing)
placement than any other entity,” said Hughes. “We can authorize
medications and sign someone who is under a conservatorships into a
locked facility if the court authorizes it. But we can’t control the
behavior of clients on the street. We don’t have more control over that
individual than anyone else.”
In addition to a massive housing
crisis, California is facing a shortage of psychiatric beds at all
levels of adult inpatient and residential care, according to a 2021
study by the Rand Corporation and California Mental Health Services
Authority. The report estimates the state needs to add about 1.7% more
psychiatric beds in the next four years.
San Francisco is working
toward meeting a goal of adding 400 mental health care beds, including
30 beds for individuals with co-occurring mental illness and substance
use disorder.
Critics also argue there are enough individuals who want mental health treatment and struggle to get it.
“What
the state hasn’t spent a lot of energy trying to do is find more
effective ways to seek people’s interest in getting care by offering
enough services in the community” said Lewis. “People can’t even get in
when they want to. So this idea we push people to the front of the line
who don’t want it doesn’t make sense anyway.”
Correction: This
story previously stated 4,000 individuals could qualify for a housing
conservatorship program in San Francisco. It is estimated to be closer
to 50-100. The story has been updated.
ALBANY, NY (WRGB) — As
the clock ticks down in Albany with less than seven active days left in
this year’s legislative session, state lawmakers and advocates say
guardianship laws need to be reformed.
A bill that would accomplish this is called, “Karilyn’s Law.”
The
legislation is named after Karilyn Montanti, a senior who advocates of
this bill say is a victim of the guardianship system. Her loved ones say
they’ve been denied visitation.
Karilyn’s Law would prevent a
guardian, are manager, or power of attorney from terminating visitation
rights and isolating vulnerable individuals who are being held in
involuntary guardianship.
This
new legislation would provide for the ward or family members - some of
whom say they’ve been denied their due process rights to be heard and
the right to an evidentiary hearing.
Karilyn’s daughter, Christina Montanti, says she hopes this bill will
be enacted into law. She feels it would set up safeguards for NYS’s
most vulnerable individuals.
“This is what my mother looked like
before these individuals began isolating her and this is what she looked
like four months later. She dropped three clothing sizes and she
appeared to look years older than she did prior to the isolation. She
was pleading for help,” added Christine Montanti.
Christine is expected to join lawmakers at 11AM Monday on the
million-dollar staircase inside the Capitol to make a push for this bill
to get attention before the session ends.
Florida American Legion members participate in the Heroes Honor Festival
at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., on May
28, 2022. Photo by Steven Sobel/The American Legion
By Cameran Richardson
U.S.
Army veteran Ben Peterson had a vision to put on a large-scale event
that gave Vietnam veterans the long overdue welcome home that they
deserved. His vision came following a two-year deployment in Iraq when
he arrived home and a line of Vietnam veterans, which included American
Legion Riders, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with American flags “guarding
my welcome home,” he said. “They became the guardians of honor, making
sure that future generations would never be shamed for their service. We
all know that they can’t hold that position forever. And that’s why
it’s up to us, my generation from our wars, where we have to take up
that mantle.”
With the help of the American Legion Department of Florida,
Peterson’s vision became a reality May 27-28 where 30,000 veterans and
their families gathered for the first Heroes Honor Festival at the
Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla.
The Department of Florida “saw the value of this, they saw the value
of being able to present the awareness (of this festival) to all of the
younger veterans to get involved,” said Jim Wineland, Department of
Florida Legion Riders director who first worked with Peterson on getting
the Legion involved, including the Legion Riders to help spread
awareness about the event. “It’s to bring veterans all together. That’s
why we did all of this. It’s the camaraderie, the age groups are coming
together.”
Wineland, an Air Force Vietnam veteran who served in-country, added
that Vietnam veterans dealt with the draft, “a camaraderie that we have
different than other services.” But that difference “is being bridged
here” at the Heroes Honor Festival.
Attendees of the festival experienced a veterans resource expo and a
main stage that featured country music performances by stars Toby Keith,
Justin Moore and Craig Morgan, remembrance ceremonies, and remarks from
special guests that included Major Gen. Patrick Brady, a Vietnam War
helicopter pilot and Medal of Honor recipient who received The American
Legion’s Distinguished Service Medal; and Lt. Col. Oliver North, a
combat decorated Marine veteran who is a recipient of The American
Legion National Commander’s Public Relations Award.
The American Legion Department of Florida, a gold sponsor for the
festival, had a PROJECT: Vet Relief tent and a department tent set up in
the festival’s resource expo at different locations. Outside the
Department of Florida’s tent festival attendees played corn hole on
hand-painted patriotic corn hole sets that the department raffled off;
signed up to win a one-year free membership in The American Legion
Department of Florida; and learned more about what the Legion does at
the state and national level. The Department of Florida Legion Riders
also gave away a Legion Riders and Heroes Honor Festival patch for any
motorcycle rider that signed up for the Ride for Freedom that left
Sunday morning from the speedway and traveled to a nearby Harley
Davidson. The ride was presented by Rolling Thunder and American Legion
Riders of Florida. The department gave away all 500 patches.
Being a part of the Heroes Honor Festival is “something we are
excited to do,” said Department of Florida Commander Jerry Brandt, whose
project during his time as commander is PROJECT: Vet Relief. “This
(festival) is a chance for The American Legion to say, ‘Hey, this is
what we do’ to people outside of the Legion. On an average year we
contact hundreds of thousands of veterans, not only in The American
Legion but all veterans in the state of Florida. That’s who we are
working for.”
The Department of Florida’s PROJECT: Vet Relief program provides
emergency financial assistance to veterans and focuses on veteran
suicide prevention efforts by supporting 10 Florida-based veteran-owned
nonprofits that treat veterans with PTSD. In its eight years of
existence, PROJECT: Vet Relief has helped 1,000 veterans and raised $1
million in donations.
Larry Roberts, the Department of Florida’s VA Entitlements chairman
and service officer, volunteered at the PROJECT: Vet Relief booth along
with his wife Donna. They accepted donations for the program and brought
five boxes of materials that include pamphlets on PROJECT: Vet Relief,
veteran suicide prevention, Agent Orange VA benefits, state benefits and
more, as well as gave away koozies, bracelets and sweat rags that
featured the VA suicide prevention hot line and the Department of Legion
Family logos. The festival ran from 12:30-9:30 p.m. and they were down
to less than a half a box of materials and giveaways by 3 p.m. And they
gave away 400 of the sweat rags.
“In the Soldier’s Creed there is a line that says we will never leave
a fallen comrade behind, and I believe in that,” Larry said. “So by me
being here and doing this, I’m helping my brothers and sisters by making
sure they are getting the contacts they need. And it helps me by
helping them. That’s my therapy.”
Vietnam veteran Jimmy Archer and his wife Roberta visited the
PROJECT: Vet Relief booth. Donna and Larry shared what the program is
and how The American Legion helps. Jimmy responded that “most of us are
too proud to ask for help.” Donna responded, “If you don’t want to talk
about your experience, we will get you involved in fishing or whatever
you enjoy. That’s what PROJECT: Vet Relief does. We just want veterans
to know that they’re not alone.”
Larry showed Jimmy how to connect with him on Facebook and be a part
of his Buddy Check Monday where he checks on veterans and asks others to
do the same. “If I know something that benefits veterans and I don’t
share it, what am I doing? I’m leaving them behind,” Larry said. “So by
doing the Buddy Checks, find out what’s going on and just talk.”
Larry hugged Jimmy and let him know that “I’m here to listen. I’m here to care.”
“(Jimmy) needed to hear that he wasn’t alone and that he wasn’t forgotten,” Donna said.
Visitors to the American Legion Department of Florida’s tents learned about Buddy Checks and wanted to know how to get involved.
“It’s touching a veteran’s heart at the right time and what a perfect
moment … Memorial Day weekend,” said Fifth District Commander Lena
Heredia-Perez, an advocate for Buddy Checks. When she served as
commander of Post 283 in Jacksonville, Heredia-Perez and her husband
Samuel checked in on elderly veterans during hurricane season. “That’s
what it’s all about. It’s all about taking care of each other.”
Heredia-Perez said it was important for The American Legion to be at
the Heroes Honor Festival. “We are the best kept secret. We need to be
out like we are today and spread the word (of what we do). The American
Legion saved my husband’s life and gave him purpose. It gave me
purpose.”
Heredia-Perez said that Samuel was a Humvee driver in Afghanistan.
When he came home from serving, she took him to an American Legion post.
When they left, he said to her, “I found my home. They understand what
I’ve been through. I don’t have to explain myself. They get it.” Ever
since then it has been her “mission to take care of veterans.”
It’s that service to those who served that Peterson reminded veterans
of Iraq and Afghanistan that they must uphold. He asked veterans from
his wars to turn to Vietnam veterans in the crowd and salute them.
“When we salute you, we are communicating that we see you, we see you
for your courageous service, we see you for how you were shamed, we see
you for the fight you took to the VA (for Agent Orange benefits), and
we see you for being the guardians of honor,” he said. Then he asked the
Vietnam veterans to salute back. “You see us as your legacy, you see us
as the future generation that will never allow veterans to be shamed,
and you see us as the legacy to carry on your position as a guardian of
honor.”
.webp)
