“D”
is a visionary, community organizer and coach, living in Lahaina, Maui. He is also a MindFreedom International member and a disabled Black trauma survivor. In 2016, he was catastrophically injured in a car accident involving an Uber driver. The accident severed his spine, and despite several reconstructive surgeries, he was left with chronic pain, and permanent mobility challenges for which he requires a walker to get around. He uses a daily meditation practice combined with medication to control pain from his injuries. He has lived in Lahaina and various parts of Maui since 1997 and loves the islands but like thousands of other Maui residents, his life was dramatically affected by the recent wildfire. The fires that ravaged Lahaina exposed gaping holes in supportive housing and other services for elderly and disabled residents of Hawaii. The displacement of thousands of people whose homes were destroyed compounded preexisting problems in Hawaii related to gentrification and the rising cost of housing in general. Many long time residents of Maui, including indigenous people now find themselves competing for scarce, permanent housing against elderly and disabled residents; some are being forced to move to the states.
D is currently housed but he is not safe. He is an enrolled member of MindFreedom International’s Shield program and he is asking other Shield members for help due to recent threats to his safety. Although he is not being subjected to court ordered psychiatric interventions or institutionalization, D recently shared that starting in July of 2023, after obtaining a commitment from one of the top personal injury law firms in the nation to assist him with a personal injury lawsuit, he has been subjected to a pattern of harassment ad physical assaults where he lives. There is reason to believe that he is being targeted as his lawsuit.
Even more concerning, the police are taking zero action even though he managed to record one of the assaults. The harassment and physical violence is happening in broad daylight in front of his home. He has been threatened, grabbed, shoved, even subjected to unwanted sexual advances. One assailant pushed him to the ground, grabbed his walking cane and hit him violently with it. Eerily, some of the people involved in the harassment have approached him, pretending to be delivering food on behalf of an unidentified agency yet when asked, they are not willing to produce any personal identification or proof of employment.
The company that D is suing has a known history of employing unethical practices to fend off critics and lawsuits. One possible explanation is that D may be the victim of a concerted effort to make him appear incompetent or ‘crazy’, thereby delegitimizing his medical claims. Another explanation is that by making D appear as ‘incompetent’ this could render him legally unable to benefit from or have control over any future court settlement.
Although at least one of the violent assaults has been recorded and D was able to identify at least two of the assailants (View cease and desist orders) the police did not take action and the media refused to air the story.
Justifiable concerns for his personal safety, have left him with no other choice to move to a different state, at least until the lawsuit is settled. The lawsuit is not expected to reach a settlement for several months.
He is seeking a private room to rent for $200-$300/month in any state. If you can provide D with a temporary place to stay please contact office@mindfreedom.org