What do child abuse prevention, shaken baby syndrome, prison sentencing reform, and animal welfare all have in common?  A tireless advocate in Janet Goree!

As part of our continuing series “Women Who Make A Difference,” this week we’re sharing the story of Janet Goree of Camilla, GA. I first met Janet when we were asked to participate as panelists on the Mother Knows Best segment on WFXL TV’s Good Day morning show. During the time I’ve been getting to know her, I have become more and more impressed with the range of, and depth of involvement in, her interests.

MMC: Janet, our readers have already heard of your involvement with Shaken Baby Syndrome and child abuse prevention, but I know you’re a woman of many causes.  Can you tell us about some of them, and how you became interested in them?

Janet: I have always been bringing home strays as long as I can remember; my heart breaks whenever I see any animal suffering.  I am a firm believer and advocate for a mandatory spay law. In that case, one idea would be that a responsible breeder pay some sort of licensing fee, and those fees could go to help cover spaying/neutering costs for owners who can’t afford it.  I would also like to see restorative justice used more in sentencing those involved in animal cruelty.

MMC: What can you tell us about your growing up years and how they might have influenced you to become involved in helping others?

Janet:  I was the middle child of 3; my older sister Donna was 7 years older than I and my younger brother Frank is 7 years younger.  We had a difficult childhood, which included sexual abuse, but my mom did whatever she could to keep the family together.  As a single parent, which was unusual and frowned upon in “those days’, she worked driving a diaper delivery truck, and my grandmother took care of us.  I remember one time…I must have been about 7 at the time…I overheard my mom crying because we had no gas in the car to go see my grandma for Easter.  Wanting to make things better, I promptly took the water hose and filled up the tank…oops!  But, seriously, I had seen my mom overcome so many obstacles while keeping our home full of love, that I just didn’t accept or believe that any situation was beyond hope…

MMC: What practical suggestions would you make to parents who want to encourage their children to be world changers, and make a difference?

Janet: First of all, remember that your children watch everything you do; you lead by example.  When life knocks you down, they will learn by your example how to handle it when it happens to them.  When Kimber was shaken and I watched her suffer such physical pain, and my beautiful daughter had to suffer such wrenching emotional pain…I wanted to crawl under the covers and never get out of bed.  But I realized that, as the matriarch, they were all watching me. So I pulled myself up and put one foot in front of the other.

 I found a great grief counselor and I started talking about Kimber to anyone who would listen.  In between, I would drive down the road screaming and hitting the steering wheel or cry in the shower.  Then I would get out and put a smile on my face and play in the pool or have ice cream for supper with my grandchildren.  If you truly want to change the world, the most important part is to find balance.  I lost myself for awhile becoming so fixed on getting Kimbers’ law passed and her story told, that one day my daughter said to me “Mom, you still have all of us and we need you!”  So now I try to focus on my family first and foremost.  In the end, your family is all that matters…

Janet: Well, my youngest son suffered from heroin addiction.  He is currently serving a 30-year mandatory minimum sentence for drugs, while the man who killed my grandchild got probation.  Mandatory minimum means that he must serve every single day – he will be 62 before he is free, and he never laid a finger on anyone.  Our prisons are full of addicts – we are locking up an entire generation of mothers and fathers with sons and daughters.  Addiction is a disease.  My son is serving 30 years because his “drug of choice” was illegal, while the ones making the laws go home every night and enjoy their own (which was also illegal not so long ago…).  My dream future includes caring for my family, ending mandatory minimum sentencing, treating addiction as the disease that it is (rather than implementing prison terms as “treatment”), and I would love to open an animal rescue shelter and see mandatory spay/neuter programs implemented!  Guess I need to live to be 150!

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