| The Pretty Bird Woman House is Up and Running!
As I said above, the shelter officially opened for business about a month ago.
Despite the fact that they haven't been able to get the fence up due to an incredible amount of inclement weather, it has been full. Until the fence is installed (which it should be by the end of the month) the staff are taking women who feel that their spouses might stalk them to another one farther away. The security system was installed a while ago, so the women who do stay at the house are safe anyway. The local police department has also been increasing its patrols around the house.
In April, Pretty Bird Woman House also co-sponsored a domestic violence workshop for all residents of the reservation, which was the first time something like that has happened there.
In addition to being extremely successful as a conference, afterward two elder women approached Georgia with the idea of doing talks at local schools on what love really is and developing self-respect, so the girls especially don't think they have to put up with any kind of abuse. This group is still in the planning stages, but I thought it was a wonderful indication of the ripple effect that the shelter can have on the reservation.
A couple of weeks ago, a youth group from local church approached Georgia with an offer of volunteer time this summer. As you will see from the photos below, since the house is sorely in need of a coat of paint, she asked them to paint it.
Even Georgia was was surprised at how badly the paint is peeling when she took a closer look at it.
The youth group will be painting the house July 8th - 11th.
Since this church doesn't have affluent members, and therefore can't send housepaint along with their kids, I have started a fundraiser for the paint and painting supplies.
So far we have $175.01. To buy about 20 gallons of paint and brushes, scrapers, etc., I figure we'll need about $800 more. That's only 80 people giving $10 each, or 40 giving $20 each. I know people have been stretched thin by donating to the campaigns and $4 a gallon gas, but this is really just the price of a bottle of wine. So how about it?
You can donateat the ChipIn page here,or by clicking the ChipIn widget at the Pretty Bird Woman House blog here
A few more words about community support
As some of you might remember, when the Pretty Bird Woman House board was in the process of buying the house, the City of McLaughlin, which is a non-Indian town in the middle of the Reservation, passed an ordinance mandating that all non-profits that were sheltering people get a permit first. This was in response to problems with a homeless shelter, but it also affected the PBWH. The first Town Council meeting was tense, and comments by a few Council members seemed to have racial overtones. We were worried. I diaried that here.
However, afterward the Mayor and Representative Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin (D-SD) came out publicly in support of the shelter. By the next meeting, the Council made a 360 degree turnaround, and unanimously approved the permit for the shelter.
All of that made me wonder how the community would respond afterward.
When Georgia told me what has been going on, I felt as if she were telling me about some Disney movie.
The first time they needed their lawn cut, a woman from the Lutheran church, which had been the owner of the house, came over and mowed it herself.
The next time it needed to be cut, the MAYOR himself showed up on his riding mower. Heh heh, when's the last time your mayor cut YOUR lawn?
And, then we had the youth group volunteering to help as well.
So, let's buy some house paint!
Go here.
Since more than 1,000 people donated to the first fundraiser, I figure this one should be a cinch.
Another subject: anybody have any advice?
Since I started this project, everything I see turns out to be an illustration of a larger problem.
Georgia is having such severe back pain now that a doctor at a private clinic suggested she go on disability. Why? The Indian Health Service is refusing to approve a CAT scan or any other diagnostic test so the doctors can tell exactly what is wrong with her. Is it a disc issue, or arthritis, or something worse? If we leave it up to the IHS, she'll never find out.
Because the IHS has refused to either permit her to be properly diagnosed or send her to a chiropractor, or give her the proper amount of pain medication Georgia finally went to a private clinic, where at least they would give her an x-ray (don't know the results).
Just as bad, the IHS will only give her a prescription for a few pain killers at a time. That means that she has to drive 2 hours to the IHS office, or put up with more pain. If she doesn't get proper medical attention soon, she might not be able to walk, in which case she might have go on disability anyway. Since Georgia lives for her job, that would be terrible on a number of levels.
I know some of you will have some expert opinions I can pass on to her.
I wanted to say "another WTF moment brought to you by George Bush," but it's just typical IHS behavior.
So the larger issue is the IHS's terrible medical care. We can see how local doctors recognize that Medicaid and Medicare both provide better service. How can we let this go on?
I advised Georgia to call Rep. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin's office to see if one of the LAs there can help. The Congresswoman has been so supportive of the shelter, even buying it a washer and dryer, that I'm sure they'll help.
Can anyone else think of something else Georgia could do to get proper medical care?
What she had wanted to do was get Aflac or some other type of supplementary health insurance for the entire shelter staff just for these types of things, but their federal grant doesn't cover that cost. She's going to apply for a foundation grant for that, but that's a crap shoot sometimes.
So, if anyone has any ideas, let me know, and I'll pass them on to Georgia.
Again, thanks so much for all your support. Now I wish we could also help Georgia get some decent medical care.
And, don't forget. The shelter needs a new coat of paint. No contribution is too small not to be greatly appreciated. You can contribute here.
If you like to shop, think shampoo and diapers! |
In honor of my mother, 
