Abrielle Neff Foundation: Impact on Victims Bring Awareness

Monday, November 2, 2009

Impact on Victims Bring Awareness

Sorry so slow in getting this posted. This is the newspaper article that was released by the Missouri Department of Corrections following my visit to the Maryville Treatment Center.

The Missouri Department of Corrections focuses heavily on the reentry process, ensuring offenders have the tools and opportunities necessary for them to be productive, law-abiding citizens upon their return to Missouri communities.

As part of the transition and rehabilitation process, offenders at Maryville Treatment Center (MTC) participate in a variety of classes. This includes Impact of Crime on Victims Classes (ICVC). These classes bring awareness and understanding to offenders in regard to the negative impact crime has on victims, their families and the community. The best way to accomplish this is to have victims visit the facility and share how they were victimized along with the pain and grief they and their families have endured due to criminal acts.

On September 30, 2009, Brenda Neff spoke at MTC's ICVC class. Neff is the founder of Abby's Hugs. This foundation gives stuffed animals, coloring books and crayons to children who are hospitalized. Neff formed this foundation after her 3-year-old daughter, Abrielle Neff, was killed as a result of a car accident involving a driver who had recently consumed alcohol. Abrielle Neff died on March 29, 2007.

During the class, offenders were able to see pictures of Abrielle Neff, making her not just a statistic but also a little girl whose life was taken away due to the driver of the other vehicle having consumed alcohol then driving.

MTC offenders have been involved in ICVC classes and Restorative Justice projects for several years. These Restorative Justice projects involve giving back to the community in the form of city-wide clean-up, resurfacing and painting church parking lots, and Christmas light projects to name a few. Several projects are also done inside the facility. One of those has been to create coloring books for Abby's Hugs.

While Neff was at MTC, she was presented with 220 coloring books, created by offenders as a part of their Restorative Justice project in association with the ICVC.

For more information, contact the Public Information Office (573)522-1118.

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Our Story...

Abrielle came into this world in a hurry to get started, which gave us our first glimpse at her personality. Not waiting on Dr Jane to put on gloves, only a towel to catch her with, she weighed in at six pounds fifteen ounces. From the beginning Abby had reflux, but there seemed to more than just that as she failed to gain weight. At four months we were sent to draw all kinds of labs, hoping for a solution, but all was normal. By six months of age, the vomiting became worse, almost nightly. We were keeping records of every calorie she ate, every dirty diaper, and every time she vomited. By this time Abby was refusing to eat supper most nights and would throw up her undigested lunch after bathtime at 8:00. Her food was just sitting in her tummy all day. Dr Watson sent us to Omaha Childrens Hospital to Dr Zapata a pediatric gastroenterologist to help diagnois the problem. There, over the next year and a half of her life, Abby underwent testing, treatments, and outpatient procedures. During every procedure she was given a stuffed animal to hold for comfort, even though she had Blankie with her.
To make a long story short, after the accident we discovered St Francis Hospital did not have a program like this for kids and Abby's Hugs was born.

That Tragic Day...

Thursday, March 29, 2007, began like any other school day in our household with the only exception being that it was Abby's sharing day at preschool. We had a rule that if the sharing item was not picked out the night before (which it usually wasn't), Abby had to be ready for school before she could find something to take. This morning was just like most ... nothing was picked out the night before. She hurried faster than usual that way she would have time to find something. After brushing her teeth, she ran to her room to find some clothes. I always tried to give Abby choices, but she was down to her last clean pair of capris. I gave her the option of wearing those, a pair of Gymboree Fruit Punch capris with a bright yellow shirt or jeans and a purple kitty shirt. She decided on the capri outfit which she had actually rejected every other day that week. After getting dressed, she went into Sissy's room and was playing with her LeapPad when I found her. I asked her how she wanted her hair fixed and she said "little pony". (Not that she was going to leave it in anyway) I helped her onto the sink and she dug through her basket of hair things until she found a yellow one. We went into the living room so I could sit down to brush her hair. Since sitting on my lap was now impossible, Abby stood in front of me as I pulled her hair up with the little yellow hair tie. She ran to her room and began looking for something to bring for sharing. She came out with her Little People's Noah's Ark set stuffed full of extra toys. Being a mean Mommy, I said, You can only bring one toy. Aww, was the response as she took the ark back to her room to look for something else. I went on about my routine of making my lunch and everything else to be ready to leave for work. Mady and I headed out to the Expedition and Abby was not following behind. I went back inside to find her and Marc on their way from her room with her big "bobbycat" (bobcat skidloader) for sharing. They had been looking for the scoop that attaches to the front but ran out of time. They decided that just the bobbycat would work. Marc helped buckle Abby in her car seat. Because she was so small we still used the 5-point harness and not just the seatbelt so she required some help. As we left the house, Marc pulled out ahead of the girls and I onto the gravel road. Just around the first set of curves past our house, I slowed down so we could watch the turkeys fly across the road. I am not sure if Abby saw them or not, but she said she did. We continued on, oblivious to our fate that lie ahead.

last added to 10/29 ...this I will add to as I am able ...thanks for understanding.

The Sentence

On June 25, 2008, Ryan C Sundermann was sentenced to 6 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections on charges of involuntary manslaughter. Sundermann wrecklessly caused the death of Abrielle Neff in a motor vehicle collision on March 29, 2007. Sundermann was charged with failing to maintain proper control of his vehicle, failure to drive on the right half of the roadway and operated a motor vehicle after consuming alcohol.
Sundermann was previously convicted of Driving While Intoxicated and Failure to Drive on the Right Half of the Roadway on April 25, 2006 and sentenced to 2 years probation, 12 days in jail, and a $300 fine. On December 19, 2006, Sundermann was again convicted of Excessive Blood Alcohol Content-Prior Offender which he received a Suspended Execution of Sentence of 180 days, was continued on 2 years probation and received a fine.