"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

D moved into a small, but wonderful, room in Prestige Assisted Living due to his legal blindness and physical disabilities on October 13th, 2014, Indigenous People's Day.  As soon as he found out about a Blind & Disabled Resident being abused (repeatedly robbed) at Prestige Assisted Living he tried to find a resolution and when that did not work he became a whistleblower. To make matters much worse, because the person who stole the money is the Executive Director of Prestige, D knew that speaking out against the robbery might cost him his housing and get him possibly (most likely) blacklisted from over 80 Prestige Assisted Living franchises (which are among the very few affordable Assisted Living centers in the state that take Medicaid).  

For many people, all of this will be hard to believe, even with the overwhelming amount of evidence such as receipts, witnesses and much more.  However, when people take time to read the number of State Survey Inspection violations (found here) on Prestige in less than a year those people will quickly understand that it is in alignment with the current administration's character.

D's actions should not be punished, but appreciated, as his actions will hopefully stop other blind, disabled and elderly residents from becoming victims of abuse/robbery.  Unfortunately, because of speaking out about the injustice and waiting for his requested hearing on the matter he is facing eviction within the next few days.  D has no nest egg savings because despite being severely disabled D volunteered for many years as a teacher in not-for-profit organizations before his health began to fail him. He has received requests to give keynote speeches at the Annual Alternative Education Resource Organization Conference, he has given workshops at world famous organizations such as Healthcare Justice Gathering at Gesundheit Institute (see letter of reference here) as featured in the Patch Adams movie, the National Conference on Organized Resistance in Washington DC, All Power to the Imagination in Florida, Z Media Institute in Massachusetts and more. Around the Summer of 2013, D's eyesight in his one good eye became fuzzy and within a few months he became legally blind, as determined by specialists at the Casey Eye Institute.

Because of D's poor health, many wonderful organizations have assisted D in trying to find a resolution. Such as Northwest Justice Project (non-profit lawyers), The UA Intermediaries (not-for-profit Intermediaries), Washington State Ombudsman, Aging and Disability Services, Disability Rights Network, Department of Justice, Vancouver DSHS, Longview DSHS and a growing list of support groups and disabled adult protection agencies.

"What is life... if stripped of safety, equality and peace?" explains D. 

D lives his life in a way that is heavily influenced by the non-violence and unity work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Indigenous People such as Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce who gave the inspirational “I Will Fight No More Forever” speech. As such, he tried working with agencies to find a resolution right up until a couple days before the eviction before making this issue public. In addition, the state has continued to pay Prestige every month since he moved in.

The stress of the eviction is literally killing him as it has caused his blood pressure to sky-rocket so high that nurses can't always administer the IV medication.  This is because he knows very well that Prestige is capable of extremely quick, forced evictions of severely disabled people because on Dec 4th, 2014, he witnessed in horror at 12:55pm something he will never forget. He heard J.C., his former next door neighbor in room 308, receive a brutal verbal eviction during lunch in a public eating area and D, several steps away, witnessed helplessly as JC, trembling in a walker, begged the Prestige staff to wait for him to pawn his belongings for a chance to stay at Prestige and pay his partially unpaid rent/fees. Within about 30 days he was gone.

D's younger sister also had an auto-immune disease as he has and when she died suddenly as her heart stopped on an operating room table, he tried to do what he could to focus on receiving regular health care... and appreciate every single second of life with love and appreciation.  For a more detailed description of this issue with receipts, eviction letters and more including research which details how 97% of [surveyed Adult Care facilities] don't comply with regulatory admission agreements. please click on the 'Contact' Page to request it at: www.WeDeserveMuchBetter.org

Harold Delamarter is the founder and CEO of Prestige Senior Living and Prestige Care which operates more than 80 senior communities throughout the Western United States.

Please sign this petition to demand Harold Delamarter, Founder and CEO of Prestige Care recognize that D should not be punished or evicted.  D's actions should help Prestige Assisted Living live out their publicized core values that are "based on a foundation of truth, honor [and] doing the right thing;"

“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.”
-  Martin Luther King Jr.

"I hope that no more groans of wounded men and women will ever go to the ear of the Great Spirit Chief above, and that all people may be one people." 
-Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce, Thunder Traveling to the Loftier Mountain Heights

"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear." - Martin Luther King, Jr.