As a Navigator on UUCC’s Pretrial Support Team, I have had the pleasure of working with two men referred to us by the Public Defender’s Office. The first man was charged with carrying a concealed weapon while riding on the RTA at night. He was young, had no home, and was estranged from his family. He worked full time during the day and slept on the RTA before going to work the next day.
I had limited contact with him because he had problems with his cellphone and the fact that he was referred to us shortly before his case was resolved. I referred him to Frontline for possible housing and gave him information about the Food Bank. Two weeks later he pled guilty to a lesser charge and was given two years probation. I made a follow-up call to him after his case was resolved but have not heard back from him yet.
The second man’s situation was more involved than my first referral. He was charged with domestic violence, had lost his job, and had a broken foot and torn knee ligaments. In addition he had a court order that placed him on house arrest with a GPS ankle monitor.
Initially, he was concerned about getting to his pretrial hearing which was in two days. Because of the short notice, I could not send him bus passes in time, so I arranged for Uber to take him to and from court. I have since mailed him bus passes.
His other concern was that he could not get to the Food Bank because of his house arrest. I arranged for food to be delivered to his house, and Stephanie, our Project Manager, made additional arrangements for food while I was out of town.
I called his social worker at the Public Defender’s Office about my concerns that my client was not permitted to leave his home to access community resources including food and medical care. As a result of that conversation, his attorney filed a motion with the court to request a modification of the prior order which would permit our client to leave his home in the daytime. The judge granted the motion, and our client is now permitted to leave his home during the day.
In solidarity,
Louise Mosher, Navigator
