How The "Dare To Dream Network" was born
                                             Barbara Costello-Williams

In 1989 my husband, a certified welder, certified diver,
conservationist suffered debilitating injuries to his spine
and other parts of his body while employed, as we were to
later find out, by an uninsured employer operating
in our home State of Nevada. 

We began officially participating in the workers compensation system
in 91 after becoming painfully aware of the many injustices being
perpetrated on workers who had the misfortune
to sustain an on the job injury, quite often
through no fault of their own!

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Injuries that could be so severe that good people were
unable to continue working, and at times required serious
medical attention and care, instead they found themselves,
literally, fighting for their very lives as well as their families future.

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* Unsafe workplaces were and still are the norm in this country *

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My husband and I diligently researched the Statutes (Laws) which
governed the Nevada Workmen's Comp system. We became
very active in researching & preparing all our personal legal
arguments & documents along with the assistance at the time,
of a soon to be attorney with whom we were to became fast friends.
He would prove to be a wealth of candid information!

Being advocates was to be an enlightening
but draining experience, along with being a major wake-up call!
What we were to learn was mind boggling and what we were to
experience was so abusive in nature, so tremendously disheartening
in the realization that our State/Nation could, and did, stoop so low.
And unto this day has indeed escalated in its dastardly deeds
as the farce continues!

We were to witness blatant outrageous corrupt behavior
 that will be discussed later, as well as the manipulation
of those who gladly did/do the bidding of a bureaucratic demigod,
bent on bastardizing the "Constitution of these United States"
as they SYSTEMATICALLY WORK to destroy
good people and their families by bleeding them dry
and leaving an empty shell!

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We will share how the system would punish those they could not oppress!

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As advocates we met some wonderful folks who were going through
unnecessary hardships because of the abuse and misuse of the funds
that were collected, purportedly, to be used to assist an injured worker
in being made whole again and/or be fairly compensated for losses.
BIG FARCE!

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I will share with you at his request, before he passed away, Ed Ellis.
A prisoner of war who made it home from Nam only to be injured
on the job and die in what amounts to, damaged care!
Ed's  misfortune wasn't that of being a prisoner of war,
Ed freed himself of that yoke!

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Ed Ellis fought for our freedoms but soon found out he had no voice
in his future nor honorable access to the freedoms he fought to preserve!

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Getting caught up in his country's thankless and abusive
Workmen's Comp System became the yoke that could choke the spirit!
But not Ed's, even up till his death, Ed was what heroes are made of!

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We will share our unpaid Lobbyist experiences, the interesting people
we came to know and the inner workings of our system of Government.
Insiders who we will not name here in order to protect their position,
brave souls who trusted us and gave us a shot in the arm
when they admitted the system was seriously broke.

We will share the anger/violence that we were able to curb.
The violence that got out of hand.  The suicides prevented and the
suicides that happened.  Marriages that weathered the storm
and those that did not.  The judgment of those who bought into the
big lie and believed that anyone hurt on the job had to be a bum,
someone looking for a free ride.

"The judgment of  fools"!