Advocating for A Thoughtful Care Plan for All 101
To the Editor (and all leaders in our country, states and communities):
On the heels of a tragic loss of a family of five to apparent murder-suicide in MA, the need to know more about mental health and safety in relationships of all kinds is clear if not dire. Unfortunately not all forms of abuse are obvious to outsiders and maybe not even to the adult or child victims themselves.
We need to try to consider what we may be missing and ways to advocate for more screenings and gentle or direct interventions for victims of any kind of abuse whatever their age or ability to self-advocate.
The 'plot thickens' when considering the fate of children in custody disputes. Sadly they often end up in the hands of an abusive, controlling parent. The victim, typically the mother, may be punished for advocating for their safety and barred from seeing them much or without supervision (possibly having to pay an hourly rate as well.)
The legal path is not clear and secure as most would hope it would be with systemic support. The entire country can benefit from insights from the free online newsletter from the CA Protective Parents Association to help more people feel informed and empowered.
The 14th annual Battered Mothers Custody Conferences with a theme of #MeToo #WeToo will be held in Albany NY the last weekend of April 2019. The advocates, including persistent people from CA Protective Parents Association such as Connie Valentine, have been key to proposing House Resolution 72 effort in the US Congress to keep domestic violence victims and their children together during initial custody orders.
Resolution 72 passed in the House and needs to pass in the Senate to become a federal standard. In England, coercive control as explored by Evan Stark in his book with that title, is now against the law. More efforts are being made to clarify safety standards for caregivers and to for individuals to understand their rights to safety and fair treatment if seeking help or justice.
There is much for the public and for service providers to learn about these challenging issues. Unfortunately the guidelines and impetus for the media to cover such matters in depth have not been clarified yet, but perhaps this too is the time to create meaningful change.
There are many promising reforms that could be of great help for the public and advocates to learn about early and review often. The earlier children and youth have appropriate information to assess 'what's fair' and 'what to do in a difficult situation', the better. Young people (whether living with abuse or not) are 'the next in line' to need to know about safety and their rights whether in their homes, schools or other program or faith settings, in relationships, work places and the world at large.
Hopefully everyone has a few trusted competent people they can share concerns with on a regular basis as sell as positive experiences to keep a network intact should needs arise.Thank you for taking time to consider ways to share important resources.
We need to have courage creating more avenues for access to online and phone support as well as meaningful resources over the long haul to improve safety for one and all, and ideally ward off tendencies for any, particularly men, or those in powerful positions whether parents or bosses, to not abuse their role, strength or other resources to harm or control others.
Dear Recipients of the Former Letter;
I sincerely thank you for your roles in leadership at various levels. Using the 'least amount of energy' to reach the most people with important information is something I learned from my basic course of permaculture. That that many applications and is readily accessible to people online now through Permaculture Basics courses usually for a nominal fee. There are likely many other youtube talks on it as well.
In addition, I wanted to add in the letter (or byline) that I have a blog, http://www.livfully.org where I explore many of these issues and share reflections on many aspects of living. I would appreciate the opportunity to talk over or send you more specific information on any issues that may appeal.
Another key principle of permaculture is preventing harm or undesirable 'downward spirals' of problems piling up with early intervention efforts. Those could be thought of a promoting helpful and desirable 'upward spirals' to nip problems in the bud and minimize negative factors and patterns. Some things may take time, yet being aware of cycles (in nature and over a period of years regarding growth of people or of an ecosystem) can be helpful.
Using the auspicious times and resources among people and the environment and other systems (social, legal, educational, faith and public) would be a helpful strategy. Meeting people's 'needs or inputs' with resources, skills and 'outputs' from others and the public at large is an overall way to assess business and community actions and planning.
Everyone is part of the system (locally, statewide and countrywide, for instance as citizens or residents or contributors.) Everyone has basic human needs to survive and be social and connected. In this age of Aquarius, which many are calling a time of ascension during which there will be turmoil due to balancing karmic patterns and letting old frameworks fall away, there are many inspiring ideas and people offering helpful ideas.
Some of those frameworks could be studied by teams in every state as well as at the national and global level to help assess pressing issues and to offer guidance to people. Everyone in school or even in their faith and public circles could learn some basics and appreciate ideas from Eve Wilson, Edgar Cayce and on a 'different wavelength' such as Jenn McLean, The Shift Network, and Jarrad Hewett and many others (on Youwealthrevolution for instance) and at New Life Expo (which is held on NYC and FL a few times annually), Dr. Sha, Fei Long, Steven Greer, Judy Satori. The medical community is opening up to the idea of "Integrative Health" which identifies various aspects of one's life and belief as important in determining one's sense of wellness and yes, physical and mental health.
The bridge that may not have spanned the gap needed is now being built by many team players with great wisdom to offer. The Enneagram by Riso and Hudson, The book Why Your Life Is the Way It Is and What You can Do About It offer seminal ideas which many more traditional religions and theories could factor in for consideration of 'next steps' and programs for more people to become 'their own expert or team player in determining and considering what their experiences in life have been and what they could be' to find inner peace and balance. Basically the movement from healing on many levels of spirit, thinking and taking actions, including nutritious eating and moderate regular exercise.
Medical doctors only receive an brief introduction to nutrition, and are not expected to help people prevent illness. They really are not trained to do that and would be liable for not directing people properly, especially is herbs (and there are many such as with Ayurvedic and Chinese options among others.) If an herb or food is not modified it cannot be prescribed as a drug and therefore cannot be charged for.
The idea of promoting health early on with good nutrition and support (for smoking and drinking or drugging cessation programs as well as providing basic good secure housing and food for pregnant mothers (and perhaps their partners in another nearby housing complex...or possibly together if there can be safe oversight, etc) would be ideal.
Then free childcare with a focus on nutrition and exercise options (open space and play equipment such as balls, simple low climbing structures and so on, soothing uplifting folk music and gentle classical music or other appropriate songs to support cognitive development, and offer clear positive guidance for social skills and basic competencies in self-care, eating, playing, learning and being creative and connecting with nature and their social groups (family, friends and neighborhood resources, including parenting and caregiving groups.)
Thank you for considering some of these ideas. A couple of stories I share capture some of the creative ideas that may be helpful for people to reflect on and 'make their own connections with.' The audio of The Jewel Story and the written version of The Turtle and The Acorn are online, by Catherine Palmer Paton. I hope to have e-books of them soon. Thanks very much for all you are pursuing and helping others tune into as this next decade and half comes round, likely with many challenges but with even more promising outcomes for humanity (according to Eve Wilson, Judy Satori and many others with special insights.) Sincerely, Catherine Palmer Paton, and blogger at www.livfully.org
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