Day 59 – Tuesday, 8 Jan

The first hearing for the divorce. It is simply continued to 15 Jan because I’m having a first meeting with a lawyer Friday. That’s unlikely to go far because I have no money to pay a lawyer, but at least I can ask for help.

A hearing on the violation of order of protection. It is continued until February. We’re waiting to see if Karen from the Diversion Program will approve what I’m doing at Batterdrum Mental Health.

Having both issues in one day is hard. The court process is incredibly intimidating because it’s completely unfamiliar.

Karen runs a Diversion Program in some kind of partnership with the courts. The idea is that you go to some lessons about why it’s wrong to fight with your spouse instead of going to jail. Sounds okay so far, right? I mean, I had already been trying to work on my anger issues so I’m cool with anything that helps me do that.

The catch is that the Diversion Program has a cost attached to it: $1,500.00. And you have to pay that fee. If you can’t afford it, you’re not eligible and you go to jail.

Well, Maria has all the funds and all my assets. I’m clearly not eligible.

I was already seeing Matthew Parks at Batterdrum Mental Health, and they offer quite a few group counseling sessions. So Matthew helped me find out what is covered in the Diversion Program, and I signed up for several of the group counseling sessions.

Then we put together a proposal for Karen showing how the counseling at Batterdrum Mental Health achieves the same results as the Diversion Program. If Karen accepts Batterdrum Mental Health as a valid alternative, then I can get help and avoid jail.

The big difference between the two is that services at Batterdrum Mental Health are free. If Karen says the counseling there is a valid alternative, then her business loses a $1,500 fee. It also sets a precedent that might allow other people to dodge that fee.

This is why covering everything in one day is hard, tiring and intimidating. It’s a little hard to believe Karen is going to approve a counseling option that loses money for her business.