Ruby

As an IT Director I get to help people gather statistics... the sad part of gathering statistics is I know their names, their stories, and the tragedy of our people. Today we buried yet another Tribal member that left too soon. During the services her casket, which was open, slammed shut as I was in line for the final viewing. It shocked me, but I reopened it and continued to pay my respects to this young woman. During the day I pondered what that might have meant... was she giving me a message? Later, as I was getting ready for a meeting about Tribal statistics it occurred to me that she wanted me to tell her story, and to follow the children she left behind. Part of our meeting was about collecting juvenile statistics. Why do some get in trouble and are re-occurring offenders? I don't know much about Ruby. We weren't best friends or anything, but she lived in my neighborhood. She had a house, her children, and a low paying job for a while. I helped her with her taxes once. I wanted to cry. Her income was so low. I didn't understand how she lived. She, on the other hand, was happy that she was getting a return. Fast forward, she lost her house, she lost her children to the courts and social services, and took on a lifestyle of drinking and wandering around aimlessly. Her life spiraled out of control. And we watched it happen. Ruby was a good girl. I can't say that she liked to drink, but I am not sure she was equipped to handle losing the stability of a house, and then her children. It was hard for me to sit in my meeting today without mentioning that we are not talking about numbers... we are talking about people, and they have names. Her children are not in our juvenile system today (they are good kids), but if in the future they become part of our stats, let's not forget to analyze where it started and the systems that took her home and her kids from her. RIP Ruby. I don't know your whole story, but I will do my best to tell the story of your children.