THANK YOU FOR SIGNING! ❤️ NOW, TELL YOUR STORY! (scroll to the end for more info)
I want first, to thank everyone who signed. I am happy to see people from all walks of life supporting this petition, from community members who truly, simply care, to justice impacted individuals themselves.
Im so grateful to everyone who cares, when you don't have to, when you could just look away and forget this happened. Thank you for wanting better for the forgotten, the alone, and the lost.
I'm also so grateful to everyone who signed who can't look away, because this is our own life story: those us who have been through this, here, in Douglas County, and those of us who have watched a loved one suffer medical neglect in jail.
If this ever made you feel powerless (of course it does) together, we have the power to change things now, not only by signing this petition, but also by telling your story.
I want to urge anybody who has lived through this in Douglas County, Kansas, to tell your personal story, and talk about your experience as an inmate, or as a loved one and a witness, to substandard health care in county jail, directly to the County Commission themselves. Make it real to them, and tell them you want oversight. It is real, and if we show them, no one can even think to look away.
There are two ways to do this:
(I will put meeting time/place/ZoomID and email addresses at the end of this message)
1) Attend a County Commission meeting in person or online via Zoom and provide public comment. You don't have to sign up in advance, just show up! You need to keep it under three minutes, so practice a couple times with a timer, or just wing it! Don't be late!!! They have public comment at the start of the meeting!!!
I do this a lot and as long as you don't cuss or get mean and don't go over three minutes, you are good. Nobody will ridicule or make fun of you, they are respectful and will listen.
Also: They can't respond to your comment during the meeting, but you will be heard. You will even have a microphone.
If you are attending on Zoom, make sure you "raise your hand" using the menu on the bottom of your screen, to indicate that you would like to comment.
One of the most persuasive things you can ever do, is simply tell your story, make them look you in the eyes and know you are the truth!
2) The second way to tell your story to the commission is to email them privately. Tell them about your experience with substandard medical care in Douglas County Jail and why we need eyes at ground zero to ensure adequate medical treatment, and why this matters to you.
I suggest 500 words or less because that gets read and committed to memory (but go ahead and write your opus, if that is what you feel) Before you send your email, let it rest for a day, come back to it, check for errors and repetition, make sure it is clear, let it rest one more time, make sure it feels right, hit send!
Sometimes, something is so important that it will always bring up intense negative feelings. If that happens every time you write, stick to the facts as best you can, and just send it, because they need the truth.
You might not get an email back, but that doesn't mean you weren't heard. Your answer is their action.
You do matter, and YOU, as a former inmate, or as a person who witnessed the suffering of someone you care deeply for, YOU are truly in the best position to speak about it. Nobody knows more than YOU do. Nobody.
You have nothing to be ashamed of, only truth, and light, to be seen.
Here are the instructions, email addresses, & meeting info I promised:
County Commission Meetings are online and in person and public comment is at 5:30 pm every Wednesday at 1100 Massachusetts in the old stone courthouse in the big meeting room (huge) on the second floor or via Zoom online or by phone.
Click here:Attend on Zoom or call (253)215-8782 and enter Zoom Meeting ID: 893 6355 8787
You can submit additional written public comment via email here: publiccomment@dgcoks.gov
You can privately email each commissioner as well:
kwilley@dgcoks.gov
sreid@dgcoks.gov
pkelly@dgcoks.gov
gdorsey@dgcoks.gov
eanderson@dgcoks.gov