I’ve been busy lately and I have also been feeling blah. One thing after another kept on coming up. I recently discovered that my son’s grandmother passed away. I’ve been sad about that. I’ve also been contacted by my ex-husband’s fiancée, who is now his ex-fiancee. She strongly urged me to rush the child custody case, but it’s already moving as fast as it can go. We just have to come up with the funds. It feels like I keep on hitting roadblock after roadblock when pursuing the right to have the chance to be my son’s mommy. I am his mother, I always will be, but I want to be his caregiver. I want to be his mommy. When I found out that she left him and his grandma died, that means my son is all alone with his father with nobody to keep him accountable. Well, maybe the schools will, but I don’t know if I can count on a middle school to keep tabs on all of their students.
Enough about my son.
I’ve also been busy meeting with politicians, key people within the mental health community, and people who has a strong influence on the deaf community. I still have more meetings to try to get set up, but I have learned of many things that could benefit us all. There is a bill in the workings to provide the deaf access to counselors through telecommunication. It will cost $1.7 million dollars, however, with the economy taking the downturn that it is, it will be a challenge for all of us to push that through the system. I plan to contact more politicians after term starts up and I will check back in with those that I have already met with.
One of these people is Stephanie Winslow, Director of Deaf Services in DMH. Now, I realize she is the new kid on the block, but I have found her to be a genuinely helpful asset to our cause. If you are in this area and you are deaf- give Stephanie a chance. Contact her and tell her your story. She is ready to hear from all of you. She wants to hear from all of you. How can she help tell the state of Missouri what the deaf needs if you all won’t tell her? If you don’t know how to contact her, comment below and I will email you with her contact information and forward your email along to Ms. Winslow. She is fluent in sign language, she understands deaf culture, she realizes we are not all alike, so what is stopping you from talking to her? If it’s the confidentiality you are worried about; you absolutely can ask her to withhold your information. But she needs all of our stories to make a difference. We all need to contribute.
You also can email your state representative and your state senator. They are real people too, you know. Don’t be intimidated by them. They work for us. Yes, they do. A representative stands up for us in our place. But how can the representative stand up for you if you don’t let him/her know what you need, what you want changed, and why. You need to contact your representative and ask to talk to him/her. That is their job. They take our agendas to the capitol on our behalf. Let them know how many deaf there is in their districts!
If I can do it, you can too! What are you waiting for?
