Scarred Body but not a Battered Soul |
You probably never heard of Eddie Lewis.
He was a child, after all, many had forgotten, ignored, pretended not to know as he was being savagely beaten by his stepfather – years of abuse that caused a host of severe health problems for Eddie including kidney failure.
When Eddie died last week he was on the kidney transplant list. He was 34.
You probably never heard that Eddie Lewis, in all his hurt at years spent forgotten in foster care, didn’t rage against the world or adults who never rescued him but instead, helped found Eddie’s House in Philadelphia, a program that provides housing and support for teens aging out of foster care with nowhere else to go, youth like Eddie who never found a safe and loving family.
You probably never heard that Eddie Lewis came to the state Capitol to testify about proposed child welfare legislation that would improve the child welfare system and further protect kids in care. Eddie could have said no, felt sorry for himself, wallowed in self-pity while he sat hooked up to dialysis, but instead he said yes and jumped on the Amtrak to Harrisburg.
Eddie did what so many others didn’t when he was a child in crisis: he spoke up and used his voice, his heart, his talents to work to improve the child welfare system.
Eddie’s death is another sad reminder of our failure to protect our children and keep them safe, healthy and secure in homes across America.
But Eddie’s life should motivate all of us to work to improve the child welfare system in Pennsylvania. It’s what Eddie himself devoted his days to.
When the General Assembly is back in session this fall, remember Eddie Lewis and tell your legislators to support the Children in Foster Care Act.
Learn more and join the campaign by clicking below:
http://www.porchlightproject.org/public_policy.shtml
Todd Lloyd, MSW, is Child Welfare Director of PA Partnerships for Children
First I'd like to say this is a wonderful, sad story. It's great to see that instead of wallowing in self pity, he did as much as he could to help children in his same situation until his dying day. I think your organization is wonderful and the porchlight program is great. However I wonder what can be done for single parents who are single parents as the result of the other parent being an abuser. That is my story. My son was abused by his father when he was 5 months old. Luckily with the help of my pediatrician it was caught early and my son has no permanent damage, he's now a happy, healthy 3 year old. I testified against his father and he was sentenced 5-10 years in jail for aggravated assault and some other charges. He was released on bail while he appealed his case. He was charged in 2007, it took a year to go to trial after the charges. It took another year for the appeal, so he wasn't put in prison until 2009. To me that was ridiculus that it took so long. He was also given the same sentence that he was offered as a plea bargain, yet refused. But the worst part is when he's released from jail, he will be able to contact us again and resume visitation with my son or possibly more. I'm told under PA law there is no way I can prevent this. This is what still keeps me up at night.
Thanks for sharing, Kristin. I'm sorry to hear about your situation, and specifically the length of time the judicial/criminal justice process took. I can share that there is a strong effort underway in Pennsylvania to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of child welfare related court proceedings. Clearly this doesn't help your situation, but your story is another important example of why we need to continue working to improve the child welfare system.
Todd, that's great to hear! I'm glad that efforts are being made to change that part of the judicial system. Those were definitely the hardest years of my life and my families. Sitting around and wondering when is it going to happen, the not knowing, thinking we were going to trial only to have it continued was awful and very traumatizing for us. I'm glad to see PA Partnerships for Children taking an active role in making PA a better place for our children! You guys do a wonderful job!
