FWD: On-going Human Rights Violation: Hunger Strike for Improved Services May Prove Fatal

From: Andrea Shettle
Date: January 21, 2009 9:44:14 PM EST
Subject: On-going Human Rights Violation: Hunger Strike for Improved Services May Prove Fatal

We in the disability human rights community have an opportunity to save a life.

A quick summary: a woman with disabilities in Sudsbury, Ontario, Canada (Minna Mettinen- Kekalainen) is SUPPOSED to be receiving home care services. The North East Community Care Access Center has been denying her these services. Minna says this is because she had complained about their nurses because they had failed to follow her doctor's orders. Minna is now on hunger strike in an attempt to pressure the CCAC to provide her the services she needs. However, someone who knows Minna and who is familiar with the way that care services work is concerned that this tactic will fail, and that Minna will die. Please take a few minutes to support efforts among disability rights activists to save her life.

1. First, read more about the situation at the following link. You will also want to read the comments that people have left, because people are using the comments area at this blog page to exchange more information and ideas on how people can help:

http://ballastexistenz.autistics.org/?p=572


2. Send an email to the following people to urge them to intervene on Minna's behalf so she can receive the home care services that she is asking for:

Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci
Constituency Office email: rbartolucci.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org
Ministry of Community Safety & Correctional Services email: rick.bartolucci@ontario.ca

Minister of Health & Long-Term Care David Caplan:
ccu.moh@ontario.ca

Non-Canadians can use these email addresses, too. If enough individual people write to them, they may take notice.


3. Consider also communicating with the North East Community Care Access Center on Minna's behalf (unfortunately there seems to be no email contact for them):

Phone: 1-800-461-2919

Mail: North East CCAC
Rainbow Centre
40 Elm St, Suite 41-C
Sudbury ON P3C 1S8

To access the Long-Term Care ACTION Line call: 1-866-876-7658 or TTY: 1-800-387-5559.

(More detail on their Complaints and Appeals Process at http://www.ccac-ont.ca/Content.aspx?EnterpriseID=13&LanguageID=1&MenuID=8

4. Please circulate this text further via your network of contacts in the disability and human rights communities, Facebook page, blog site, etc.