My weeks have been filled…
My weekends, never a dull moment.
This current weekend was no exception.
On Friday, I’d learned about one of my oldest sons friends becoming one of the overdose statistics in the province of Alberta…
Saturday, I’d learned about the events in the video attached.
While pixelated, what you can make out is that there was a fair sized scuffle and it left a friend of the family in a pretty bad place.
Jalen Yankson Swope, has been a part of our extended family for the better part of the last 2 decades - friend of our children and one of the kindest hearts you’d ever meet.
We don’t often get to see Jay, he’s spent some time out on the coast, but has recently moved back into our community, house warming booked for the first week of August - we look forward to attending.
When I visited with Jay this afternoon at the Peter Lougheed Hospital, his first thoughts were to make sure that I had the date locked into my calendar and my commitment to attending - not the IV of Hydromorphone and the level of pain he described as an 8 to his attending nurse.
What you may not be able to fully make out, Jay was the one in pink, on the ground struggling to get up. While he was trying to pull his cousin out of this attack, he was thrown into the mix and had his jaw shattered on both sides of his face.
Jay went in for Emergency Surgery on Saturday, still hadn’t been in when I was there to visit him on Sunday afternoon - past the estimated time of his surgery - 1:00 PM.
He’ll effectively need 2 surgeries, one for each fracture.
One side, they’ll cut into his neck - the other side, they’ll be cutting into his cheek to install the titanium plates to help mend/fuse his jaw back together. Following this, will be a 4-6 week - Minimum - fluid diet because they’re going to be wiring his jaw shut.
A little about Jay
Without going through Jay’s youth, what I will say is that it has provided him with the experience that he’s putting to use with the Trellis Society - in a group home setting, as a Youth Development Worker. His job is to coach and guide others in High Complexity Situations, from Mental Disabilities through Gang and Prostitution situations - in helping them get their lives back on track.
On the right track, in Jay’s position has meant him administering Narcan on more than one occasion…
Jay is pretty passionate about his position and showed up with pride to tell me all about in when I’d last seen him at my 50th Birthday Bash, earlier this year. He drove up with his new wheels, a couple of Hawaiian Leis, one for him one for me…and a few steaks that I promised to cook and we’d eat together.
It’s tough being young, bit of a checkered past and with the rising costs of living…reluctant to agree and accept help, I know that Jay has given what little he has to help others…has recently needed to changed his living accommodations to be a little more affordable and had to park his new ride, only making payments on the car, dropping his insurance to help keep the wolves away from the door…I offered to put his story out and see if we could generate a little assistance in his time.
You see…the irony of this is…Jay will most likely never see any justice (as the stack title may imply), because despite there being multiple staff and security personnel on the grounds, despite being admitted to the hospital and showing the video of his savage beating to the doctors, not to mention multiple witnesses…he’d still not been able to report this to the Calgary Police Services…and by the time he is able, what do you expect the chances of justice actually being served really are in this situation?
3 days late…grainy video…all witnesses fled - Jay left for dead.
Jay will get some disability payments from work and of course have to use up his sick days…but having lost his wallet and keys in the scuffle, costs of the move and to try get back on track, I’ve launched a Give-Send-Go campaign to reach out my community for help (click image for link).
In better times, a couple of years back - also during the Calgary Stampede, this is (left to right) Jay, my 2 sons - Devon and Zach, and of course, because it was a Marianas Trench Concert - ME!
Now…I get it.
Times are lean and shucking out the greens to perfect strangers may not be in the cards for you and yours…that’s okay. If you can help Jay, please do…if you can’t, please forward this along.
What we are seeing in the streets in Alberta, the influx in overdose cases and troubled youth, is disheartening…but imagine what this may look like if there weren’t people like Jay out there on the frontlines, using his unfortunate past to assist those who are the fallen and forgotten.
While I will be working with Jalen to make sure that we will get this filed, reach out to any others who can provide information, and keeping my fingers crossed that those who have done this to my friend get what they truly deserve under the full force of the law…I’d be greatly appreciative of any assistance you can give so our community can see some Justice4Jay.
Justice for Jalen Yankson