MetroWest Legal Services
MetroWest Legal Services Newsletter
September 2009
In This Issue
The Story of Vitor Lemos
Get Smart! Enter our Raffle to Win!
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Thank you letter from the Lemos Family 

Dear MetroWest Legal Services,

I would like to thank you all for helping me to get this wheelchair that is very important for us and for Vitor. We have been fighting to get this wheelchair for years and  you got it for us.
 
This wheelchair is important for us in many ways. It helps [Vitor] in school, at home, it helps him when we are not at home, and it helps his posture.
 
I ask God everyday to give this company power to help other people who also need help. Thank you all for everything that you did for us.

Sincerely,
Vitor's Family


Featured Article
Whole Foods Smart Car raffle
GET SMART! TICKET SELLERS WANTED 
Can you spare a couple of hours on a Saturday? Are you passionate about the work we do? If yes, then please consider pitching in to sell Smart Car raffle tickets. Spaces are still available at the following venues:
 
  
NORWOOD DAY, NORWOOD
Saturday, Sept 19
9:30 - 3:30pm
1st shift 8 - 12 
DOUG BOYER + ?
2nd shift 12 - 3:30
NEED 2 PEOPLE
 
MEDFIELD DAY, MEDFIELD
Saturday, Sept 26 
 9am - 3pm
(RAIN DATE Saturday, Oct 3)
1st shift 8-11:30 
LIZ + ?
2nd shift 11:30-3 
DAN + ?
 
LEXINGTON FARMER'S MARKET, LEXINGTON
Tuesday, Sept 29
1:30- 6pm AMANDA & JANICE
Tuesday, Oct 6, 1:30- 6pm JANICE
Tuesday, Oct 27, 1:30 - 6pm JANICE 
 If interested, send an email to  
jcamp@mwlegal.org with your preferred dates. Thanks!
The Story of Vitor Lemos  
  
For more than three years the family of Vitor Lemos had been fighting to get a new wheelchair for their severely disabled son.  Vitor in old chair
 
Vitor's school-provided chair looked more like a child's mesh stroller than a wheelchair. While it may have been adequate when he was seven, the chair now seemed flimsy and was unsuitable for a boy of 12 with his type of disability. Vitor often sat slumped to one side, exacerbating a spinal condition that recently required surgery to correct.
 
There was another pressing need for a new wheelchair- summer camp was just weeks away and Vitor would not be able to attend without a chair with proper support. His family depended upon the stimulation the camp provided and would be hard-pressed to find a substitute given Vitor's needs.
 
 
Vitor up close
A calm and curious boy with long eyelashes and a social smile, Vitor was diagnosed with multiple physical and developmental disabilities that left him unable to feed or transport himself.  
Though dependent upon others for most everything, Vitor enjoys watching TV, listening to music and playing with his brothers' cell phone. He attends a special education program at the Framingham Public Schools where he receives speech, occupational and physical therapy, and is learning sign language.

 
Vitor and his family moved to the U.S. from Brazil in 2004, relocating to Framingham a little over a year ago. Vitor's father works days as a house painter and his mother works nights so each can care for him when Vitor is not in school. Like many other low-wage earners, the Lemos family has health insurance, but it only covers emergencies and not "extremely necessary medical equipment" like a wheelchair. 
 
Both parents feared that taking time off from work to search for a new wheelchair might very well result in the loss of a paycheck or even a job. A custom-made wheelchair would also be cost-prohibitive to parents who struggle to provide what little income they can for their family. Vitor's parents were frustrated and bewildered, unsure of what to do next. Hearing of their plight, a school therapist referred them to KidsCare Connection at MetroWest Legal Services. 
 
Fitting for new chairWhen Vitor's parents came to KidsCare in April 2009, program coordinator Cris Sciaba went into action. She immediately contacted ATG Rehab in Bridgewater, a company known for its state-of-the-art mobility equipment and compassionate customer care. Technicians at ATG worked with KidsCare and Vitor to customize a chair with sufficient head and back support, a foot rest, safety belt and a removable desk.
 
Vitor and his dadThis past July, just four months after the Lemos family contacted KidsCare, Vitor's father and brother accompanied Vitor to be fitted for his new wheelchair. Summer camp was set to start the following week and the occasion couldn't have come soon enough.
 
Vitor with his dad and brother
 
Shortly after receiving the new wheelchair, a letter from Vitor's 14-year-old brother, Lucas, arrived at MetroWest Legal Services. In it, Lucas expressed the family's gratitude to MetroWest Legal Services for helping their dream become a reality.
 
About KidsCare Connection
 
KidsCare Connection was created in 2007 to increase Framingham kids' access to health services, including primary care, mental health, dental and vision services, and to facilitate treatment of chronic and acute illnesses and injuries. The program also promotes physical fitness for youths. KidsCare Connection is funded by a grant from the MetroWest Community Health Care Foundation.
 
KidsCare Connection will be at the Childrens' Fair at 85 Lincoln Street in Framingham on Saturday, Sept 12, from 10-1. The Fair is sponsored by the MetroWest Medical Center.
Get Smart! A 2009 Smart Car for just $100 dollars!
20 golf 09Purchase your ticket(s) to be entered into a drawing to win a 2009 Smart Car Passion Coupe! Raffle tickets are $100 each and to date only 60 tickets have been sold. The winning entry will be drawn on November 12, 2009 at 7 pm at the MWLS "Evening of Wine Tasting and Art." You need not be present to win. For more info, go to www.mwlegal.org.
 
With its debut at our May golf tournament, the Smart Car has been showcased at town events in Framingham and Carlisle, at the Framingham Co-operative Bank and Whole Foods in Wayland. Look for the Smart Car Raffle at Dover Days Fair on Sept 12, at Norwood Day on Sept 19, Discover Medfield on Sept 26, and the Lexington Farmer's Market on Sept 29, Oct 6 and Oct 27. More to come!

 About MetroWest Legal Services  

MetroWest Legal Services, located in Framingham, provides high quality civil legal services to low-income, elderly and disabled people in 36 towns in Central and Southern Middlesex and South Norfolk counties. We provide representation in the areas of domestic violence, eviction defense, foreclosure prevention, special education, elder law, homelessness prevention, bankrutpcy and government benefits. MWLS serves over 2000 individuals and families each year, helping them to receive equal access to the justice system in Massachusetts.