Thursday, January 22, 2009

Warning: Angry Mama Bear


Daughter called me as I was finishing a hospital visit today. "Mom, I really need to talk to you as soon as I get home."


"Okay. I'm leaving the hospital right now, so I'll see you when you get home."


She walked in the door and came straight to my study, where she sat down and told me somethings that explained her emotional challenges since early December. It seems that one of the men at the workshop has been touching her and blowing in her ear and generally giving her lots of unwanted attention with strong sexual overtones. She has told him repeatedly to stop, but he hasn't. A supervisor saw it once, and told him to stop, but she moved on to something else and he started right back up. This is the same man whose parents once accused Daughter of phone harassment and threatened to press charges against her.


I immediately called and left a voice mail for her case manager, but as Daughter sobbed in my arms, I decided that isn't enough. She wants to go in and clean out her locker, because she doesn't feel safe at the workshop any more. I will be taking her to the workshop tomorrow, and we will be addressing it with the appropriate staff.


From the sound of things, the touching J was doing was very similar to the touching Daughter experienced in her birth home. In other words, her Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is being triggered on an almost daily basis. It's no wonder we've been struggling so to find the right balance of medication.


The most frustrating thing is that I have explained numerous times to the workshop Daughter's history and her need to feel safe. I have told them about the things that trigger her PTSD. I have explained that when it is triggered, she is again 2 years old and unable to keep herself safe. I have told her that her mental health issues are a bigger issue than her cognitive issues. With the exception of her case manager, they still don't get it.


I really don't have time for this right now, as the ministry demands this week are exceedingly high. But as I repeatedly tell Daughter, her safety is my number one priority. So tomorrow my day will start at the workshop. They may end up wishing that I had decided I didn't have time to deal with it this week.

2 comments:

Torina said...

I bet you are furious. So much for supervision, eh?

Reverend Mom said...

It seems that many of the supervisors are not much better off than the clients. Far Away Sister just sent me an email urging me to expand my search for a new church. The area I've been searching is among the most depressed in the country. She pointed out that I need to go someplace with better opportunities for Daughter. I think she's on to something....