I am neither a hooker nor a lawyer…
April 26, 2015The Mental Benefits of Exercise
May 13, 2015
Hey everybody. I am super proud and excited to have been invited by my friend and colleague Edjah Nduom to be a co-founder of an organization called Physicians for Criminal Justice Reform.
It would be hard for you not to have noticed the difference in my Facebook activity over the last several months. Several recent tragic events involving the deaths of unarmed men at the hands of the police have highlighted longstanding concerns regarding how the police interact with cert...ain at-risk communities. These events have captured my attention, along with the attention of the media and concerned people worldwide.
While it may be tempting to feel gratified that these events have received publicity and leave it at that, I have spent the last several months feeling that we all need to spend more time addressing the factors that are truly at the root of many of the issues we see today.
As I was grappling with these issues, I received a most unexpected email from Edjah -- an old friend from medical school, and now neurosurgeon. He said he noticed through my FB posts that I was grappling with everything going on, and that he was to. He had an idea -- Physicians for Criminal Justice Reform -- and did I think it made any sense? He said he'd been looking for an organization for physicians interested in these issues, and could not find anything that spoke to the concerns that I have with the current criminal justice system.
Literally from the moment he pitched the idea to me, I was on fire for it. We emailed, we talked, we researched, we pulled together a core group of like-minded physicians, we did focus groups, we found a designer to create a logo and in about 3 months time, with support from so many, we came to today -- the OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF PHYSICIANS FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM.
We have created the language for this organization that we feel truly represents the best way forward for physicians to have a real impact on creating lasting reform in the criminal justice system that can help our most vulnerable patients.
To all of my physician colleagues and non-physician friends, I hope you will take the time to friend us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and Support us at Indiegogo as we raise funds for website development and incorporation as a 501c3 non-profit organization -- a $30 donation will get you an official T-shirt.
Physicians can no longer stand on the sidelines while our patients suffer due to flaws in the criminal justice system. The time is now and we will make our voices heard.
Please join us on Facebook at facebook.com/pfcjr and on Twitter: @PfCJReform. Our Indiegogo page, to raise funds to establish our organization as a 501c3 organization and create a permanent website is live at: http://igg.me/at/pfcjr
