[Felvtalk] SC woman

[Amani Oakley]

Bob

I too get your position. However, as a lawyer who fights hard to get proper compensation for people who have been harmed by medical negligence in Canada, I see all the time how a little bit of money - given in a single chunk to someone - can change their lives around. Moreover, before become a successful lawyer, I spent a very very long time barely making ends meet (almost lost my house and was working two jobs at two different hospitals), and I know the lengths I went to once, to get $1000 and another time, to get $3000. I was thrilled, once, to win a radio contest and I got $100. To people with money, these sums are tiny. But to someone struggling, giving them $5000 all at once is often enough to get the ahead of the curve. In third world countries, it has been found that "microloans" in the amount of $100, often given to women, is usually enough to allow them to turn their lives around, and the lives of their children.

You are correct that it isn't always successful when you try to help others. You are also correct that one must be worried about scams and being taken for a ride. But I have a seen a whole lot of people get some relief with a modest chunk of money and some resources in hand, and this makes big differences in their lives. In one of my cases, I represented 99 women who had all been injured by the same obstetrician. He was a surgeon who thought his skills in surgery were way better than they actually were, and he stampeded a lot of women into unnecessary surgery by suggesting there were findings in their pathology results, that were indicative of early cancer. So between the unnecessary surgeries and the horrible complications, he hurt a lot of women. The law in Canada isn't particularly wonderful where it comes to compensating patients who have been injured by medical negligence, but I fought every step of the way to get SOME money into every one of the women's hands - even the few cases where our experts were not supportive. My very wealthy co-counsel used to say to me that the smaller amounts of money would never change anyone's life, but I told him that he had been well-off too long now to remember when $100 was a lot of money.

I am a very big believer in assisting smaller groups and individuals. I think that big organizations are often bloated with bureaucracy.

With Sharon Jowers in South Carolina, I have done what I can to verify her story. I think that instead of just helping her home her animals, I can find some kind of alternative housing for her and her son. I think that once she has some stable housing, other things will fall into place. My big problem is that I am not down there to make the deal for the housing, or able to inspect the potential places, etc. But I am not going to let that get in my way if I can help it. I will work around it. I will call in favours from my friends and acquaintances, and I will also try to connect with like-minded lawyers in the vicinity. Contrary to what you may have heard, most lawyers (at least those who represent injured people) are extremely caring and work like mad, and put their own money on the line, to help their clients. I am certain I will be able to find a lawyer in North Charleston, South Carolina, who would be willing to help.

Bob, I sympathize very much with your plight and I recognize that not everyone is in a position to assist or to donate financially. However, people have already been very generous in response to my call for donations, and people have donated just a little shy of $1400 in 2 days. I have covered her rent for two weeks and will continue to do that as necessary until we can get her into some other housing.

Let's focus on what we can do. Remember two things:

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens, can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Meade

AND

"The only man who never makes mistakes is the man who never does anything." - Theodore Roosevelt.


Amani


From: Felvtalk [mailto:felvtalk-bounces at felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of bchapel at optonline.net
Sent: June-05-16 9:53 PM
To: Felvtalk at felineleukemia.org
Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] SC woman

Amani
I wholly understand your position.  Years ago in my first and longest profession(psychotherapy ) I became more than a little disenchanted with the number of patients who had no real intention of seriously working to change.  Every now and again I would devote myself to a patient widely regarded as "impossible" by colleagues who I felt held promise because I simply NEEDED to believe that I could ,somewhere, make an appreciable difference.   I actually ran about 50/50. Not bad on balance :  )
If it comes down to needing transport for these animals to an accepting facility I could contribute to the actual driving but I am ,without doubt , tapped out fiscally. I realize this might not be much help but it's what I can offer.   I do a fair amount of transport to and from vets and spay and neuter clinics for my local shelter but,again, that is on their dime with me providing the " physical" aspect.
Has the situation changed.?   I don't think I missed any mail about this
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