ParentGrief

ParentGrief

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Dateline......May 2, 2008. The Next of Kin Legislation was signed into law by Governor Strickland on May 1, 2008! You will soon be able to enter your next of kin information into a secure data base on the Ohio BMV site.

Please contact us at linda@parentgrief.com and we will notify you when you can begin using the BMV link.

How would emergency first responders find you if someone you love is in an accident? In 2006 there were 334,206 motor vehicle accidents in the state of Ohio. Of these accidents 10,701 were rendered incapitated and unable to communicate with emergency personnel. These accident victims could not tell anyone who to contact.

In most cases, the only contact information first responders have available is the address on your drivers license. Is there always someone home at the address you have listed on your drivers license? If not, the police have to begin an investigative search by contacting neighbors or looking up old records. This takes many precious hours that could stop you from being with your loved one quickly after an accident occurs. This is not the fault of the police! They use every tool available to them.

ParentGrief, a non-profit corporation, is currently creating an education program to promote awareness of the Next of Kin Legislation, which will allow anyone who holds an Ohio drivers license, State ID or motor vehicle registration to voluntarily provide two sources of emergency contact information. Authorized first responders would be the only group able to access this information. This means that if you, or someone you love is in an accident, your designated contacts would be immediately notified.

Ohio would be the very FIRST state in the US to make this available to their residents. Due to the hard work of House Representative Jim McGregor the legislation was introduced to the House and the Senate during the week of November 12, 2007. Identical bills were approved by both the House and Senate in February of 2008. But, now, one bill must be enacted into law.

Every 4.3 minutes an Ohio resident sustains an incapacitating injury in a motor vehicle accident! Ohio Law Enforcement Agencies and the BMV are working very hard to make sure victims and their loved ones are united as quickly as possible.

Please click on About Us to read more about ParentGrief and why this initiative is so very personal to us.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Linda and LuAnn have funded this project out of their own pockets with the exception of a fund raiser that netted $2000. We have received two in kind donations, one for the fund raiser and the other for business cards with emergency contact information on the back. An attorney is working pro bono on our 501 c application.

Linda, who was a top producer for her company, took six months off after Stevie died using the short term disability benefit she paid for through her employer. When Linda's short term disability was exhausted she called her manager to inform him she was coming back to work. She was informed that they had hired a replacement for her and her termination papers were in the mail. Linda lost her job because her son died.

We need funding. Over 1000 people have visited this sight. If each visitor would have donated $5 we would have $5000 to educate the citizens of Ohio. If anyone knows of any grant opportunities please let us know. Our 501 c application is in process. Does your employer have a foundation that takes recommendations from their employees?

What we would really like to be able to do is bring our children back. That isn't possible, so we are channeling our grief into helping other families.