Justice Stratton as a teen.
(10-22-18) “Everybody has the power to make a difference. It can start with one small thing. Don’t think you have to join a big organization to save the world. Start small. Make a difference in one person’s life. You get to a mile inch by inch.”
One of the greatest joys in my life is working with incredible advocates. Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton is one of them.
She was serving on Ohio’s Supreme Court when we met. Both of us were on the board of the Corporation for Supportive Housing and I was immediately impressed. She eventually left the board and resigned from Ohio’s top court, in part, to focus on implementing the Stepping Up Initiative in all of Ohio’s 88 counties. It’s a national effort to help communities end the inappropriate incarceration of individuals with mental illnesses.
I spent this morning (Monday) speaking at the Stepping UP Initiative Ohio statewide conference. The Buckeye State is becoming a national model for jail diversion.
More than 10,000 law enforcement officers in the state have received Crisis Intervention Team training. Ohio has created a Veterans Justice Program to insure veterans get individual care and are connected with meaningful services. Ohio counties are using the sequential intercept model (co-created by Dr. Mark Munetz – another wonderful advocate in Ohio) to identify and intercept persons caught in the criminal justice system and direct them into services. Ohio has created a Benefit Bank that links persons with resources to meet their needs. There also is a “compassion map” that identifies the 67,000 non-profit and faith based programs in Ohio by county to facilitate networking and community collaboration between organizations that control $140 billion in assets.
Ohio State Alumni Magazine recently published a cover story about Justice Stratton. Take time to read it. She’s been lost in the jungle for hours at a time, ridden an elephant during a stampede, and competed in goat tying contests in rodeos!
She is one of the most inspiring advocates I know.
