Julia* came to the Center for Justice a few days before Christmas. She is 57 years old and lives her life in the shadow of a mother’s deepest tragedy. Her only child was senselessly and brutally murdered four and a half years ago. It is more than enough for one person to carry around, to try to absorb while holding on to one’s faith, and to try to heal with the passage of time.
And then, last week, came the latest, cruel act of fate. She was suspended from her job as a home care provider after an annual background check revealed a pending court date for a major drug charge. It was a bogus charge, one she had been cleared of 21 years ago. But now it had inexplicably re-emerged to take away her job and her only source of income. She arrived at our front desk with thirty days to prove the background report was incorrect.
After the tearful intake interview, the Center’s Community Advocacy Director, Suellen Pritchard, went to work. She called a superior court clerk, then record keepers in Olympia. The error was corrected and, if all goes as it should, Julia’s job will be restored before the end of the year.
*not her real name.
