This has been a GREAT year and we thank all of you for that, your willingness to get involved and help us help all of you is amazing. You guys made a huge impact with the Board surveys and I am so proud of all of you for standing up to do your best to create "positive change" for the masses. The next step is to move the bills forward through the upcoming session. We are encouraged that our nine bills will pass this session and some changes will start to happen within our broken system. If we continue to all work together we will see "positive change" in the near future.
We have sent out about 50 Native American surveys so far and we have received 25 back. This is a GREAT start but I would like to reach even more of you. If any of you have a heart to help I need names to send the surveys to. The 50 I sent out were on my mailing list. Some of you have already sent in names so I hope to get those surveys back real soon. Please remember this is a Native American survey with a focus on Shelby. If you happen to be in another facility that is OK we want to hear from you as well. The surveys are to help a Native American organization called Indian People Action based in Butte. They had no way to get to all of you and so they asked for our help. There intent is to go National with the results and get you some help. So please consider helping us with this effort.
We have been asked by many how the Class Action is going for the return of supervision fees, after speaking with the attorneys this morning I was told they were trying to do things the easy way and be done with it. As you can imagine the D.O.C. refused that route and wants to go to court. So that being the case it is now moving forward through the system. It will take much longer now because we will be going back and forth until a decision is made. I was told to continue collecting the forms and so if you know anybody that qualifies please have them write me or send me a list of names and I will send them all the form.
Quite a few of our Advisory Board members have been paroled, discharged or have moved on to PRCs or other programs. We are in great need of new members from all facilities. If you are interested in getting more involved this is a good way to do it. Let me know and I will send you the app, just fill it out and send it back. Advisory Board members get the updates every month and the newsletters as they come out. I hope you will help us help all of you in the coming year.
As our funding was cut this year we cannot send all of you a Christmas card this year. We hope you will consider this update your Christmas card. We want you to know that you are all in our thoughts and prayers as always and we are honored to know each of you and to be able to work with you this year to try and create change. We appreciate all of your prayers, support and love that you show us. I pray you will be blessed in the coming year and that you will continue to be involved with moving things forward in 2015.