Mike McLaughlin’s Comments Honoring Helen Deines

Comments by Mike McLaughlin at the James E. Flynn Award Ceremony honoring Dr. Helen Deines (Saturday, February 20, 2010)

Helen Deines had always been a social work professor, and her two employers—the University of Louisville and Spalding University always offered her great encouragement in working for justice in the community.

Though now retired from teaching her professional area of specialty was the relationship between spirituality, religion, and the promotion of social and economic justice! There is a fine line between her work as a social work professor and her work as a Catholic. However, none of this work I’ll tell you about was paid.

Let me tell you just a little of what she has accomplished.

#1 Health Care Reform

From 1971-1990, Helen worked quietly with a small group of women documenting the influences of for-profit health care on the allocation of funds for care of the medically indigent in Louisville. Her group collected data, provided free consultation to the medical reporters at the Courier-Journal, organized forums, testified at public hearings, etc. Because she has a daughter with diabetes, she volunteered through the diabetes association answering calls for emergency medication needs.

Ultimately she cooperated with Channel 4 Television (London, England, in 1989) on a 3-part award-winning documentary series called KENTUCKY FRIED MEDICINE, showing how Humana diverted funds earmarked for indigent care for their own profit. She appeared with Sam Donaldson on ABC Television’s PRIMETIME LIVE (1991) presenting evidence of Humana’s continuing fraud, which ultimately resulted in the insurance company being required to divest itself of its hospitals.

For some years after this she was banned from Humana Properties, but—as they were her insurer—they paid her claims without fail.

#2 HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS happened while she was finishing up the Humana work. She was assigned to the first AIDS research grant in Kentucky, as a member of a team in the Department of Psychiatry at U of L to train physicians, nurses, social workers, dentists, lab techs, clergy, etc. to work with people with AIDS.

You may not remember that at the start few professionals would work with these patients and there was no public funding for their care. Generally gay men and lesbians set up care teams in their homes to provide free care for people with AIDS who were tossed out of both their family homes and local hospitals.

Much to her surprise, she became a caregiver and AIDS educator, too. Sometimes she was a social worker, sometimes a nurse, but most often she was a chaplain because priests, ministers, rabbis and imams would not come. She became part of a national network of Catholics ministering informally to people with AIDS. For years she delivered meals to people with AIDS every Wednesday and facilitated an AIDS family support group from about 1990 until 2008.

She was also an AIDS educator and researcher with publications to show for it. She was also a Catholic spokesperson for the organization, Religious Leaders for Fairness, because so much of the hate for persons with AIDS was framed as God’s plan.

Priests began to ask her to do sex education with their youth groups.

• In 1996 she co-chaired the Annual Ministry Conference of the National Catholic AIDS Network, the world’s largest faith-based response to HIV/AIDS
• In 1996 she received the Kentucky Association for Mental Health Howard H. Gaines Award for Outstanding Mental Health Professional for her advocacy for persons with HIV
• In 2003 she received Louisville AIDS Interfaith Ministries’ Sister Mary Bennet Cecil Award for pastoral work with persons with HIV/AIDS. After the teenager Ryan White died, money was finally allocated to pay for care for people with AIDS. Clergy began to respond to calls and the need for all these activities slowly disappeared, or so we believe. Her AIDS work gradually segued into anti-racism work.

#3 Anti-Racism Work

Somewhere along the road she was asked to speak at a national nursing conference about what black women with AIDS taught her about human dignity. She had always worked with these women and their stories had always touched her. Yet when she turned to the professional literature to research the topic, she found the literature was full of deficits—poverty, addictions, multiple sex partners, and none of these women’s strengths.

She was asked to do a series of Undoing Racism workshops for the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

She partnered with Louisville’s chapter of the National Association of Black Social Workers and she had a whole new career as both learner and teacher. About 500 participants and 8 workshops later, she had learned more about racism than any book could teach her.

• Soon thereafter (2005) she was invited to join the core leadership team of the Race, Community, and Child Welfare initiative to challenge racial inequities in the state’s child welfare system. This is still where she now spends most of her time.

#4 Poverty and Homelessness

Helen says these are boundary-spanning issues. She has always offered free training to agencies that served the poor, to equalize the playing field of staff members who are at wealthy agencies in contrast with those who serve mainly the poor. She was recognized for this in 2007 when she received the Metro Louisville Department for Housing and Family Services Community Service Award.

She currently volunteers at the Franciscan Shelter House every Friday as a table wiper.

Finally, each year she is the volunteer coordinator and evaluator for Project Homeless Connect/VA Stand Down. This is a one-day, one stop shop for homeless persons, a project of the National Conference of Mayors and the Veterans Administration. This year they expect 1000-1200 homeless persons with about 100 volunteers. She designs materials, recruits, trains, implements, and provides a professional evaluation.

I came upon this Quotation on Success (I understand inaccurately attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson) and I thought of Helen.

To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people
And the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest
critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better,

whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed
easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded.

Helen, you have certainly succeeded and make us proud!

I also found this quote from Ecclesiastes (6:14):

A faithful friend is a true shelter.
Whoever has found one has found a rare treasure.
Helen, you have indeed been a faithful friend to those in need and you are a rare treasure!
Mother Teresa would be proud of you!

And finally, from all of us; and the poor, people of color, people with HIV/AIDS, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and so forth…

Your strength has sustained us
  Your courage has moved us
Your humor has cheered us
  Your wisdom has inspired us
And your love has meant everything to us
(Author Unknown)

Helen, you are an inspiration to all of us. Please don’t ever quit smiling and may God continue to bless you in your continuing work. You have truly promoted peace and justice!