Direct Answer
Lois Laroe’s story has reached the Daily Mail, MSN, and Yahoo News. Hundreds of thousands of international readers now know what Ionia County officials have refused to act on for years. What the headlines haven’t yet covered: Lois’s mental health counselor from The Right Door has been prohibited from visiting Lois’s home because it’s too dangerous. The woman at the center of the danger — Amanda Hodges — works for the same agency. Her father, Commissioner David Hodges, sits on the agency’s board. The conflict of interest runs from Lois’s backyard directly through her mental health care.
Key Points
International Coverage, Local Silence
Lois’s story has been published by the Daily Mail, MSN, and Yahoo News, reaching hundreds of thousands of readers. WLNS has covered it locally. Ionia County township officials, the Sheriff, and the Prosecutor have maintained silence and taken no enforcement action.
Treatment Blocked by the Danger Itself
Lois’s mental health provider from The Right Door has been prohibited by supervisors from conducting home visits because the ongoing explosions and gunfire make the property unsafe to enter. This means Lois’s PTSD — caused directly by Wagner’s conduct — cannot be treated in her home because of that same conduct. Every gunshot worsens her acoustic trauma and her counselor cannot provide care.
The Conflict of Interest at the Agency
Amanda Hodges, the woman in a relationship with Casey Wagner, works for The Right Door. Amanda’s father, Commissioner David Hodges, sits on the board that oversees that agency and receives per diem payments for that board service. The people who created and excuse the danger to Lois are embedded in the institution responsible for her care.
The Mandated Reporter Question
Lois’s counselor is a mandated reporter under Michigan law. Given that the ongoing violence has rendered Lois’s home unsafe for professional visits, the question of whether the mandated reporter obligation has been fulfilled is unresolved and documented. The counselor is also a potentially powerful witness to the conditions Lois has been describing and has endured.
QuickFAQs
Why can’t Lois’s mental health counselor visit her at home?
Her supervisors at The Right Door have prohibited home visits because the ongoing explosions and gunfire from Casey Wagner make the property too dangerous. This means the PTSD Wagner caused cannot be treated in Lois’s home because of the conduct that caused it. Her counselor’s own words: “she wasn’t allowed.”
What is the conflict of interest at The Right Door?
Amanda Hodges — the woman in a relationship with Wagner — works for The Right Door, the same mental health agency providing Lois’s care. Amanda’s father, Commissioner David Hodges, sits on the agency’s board and receives per diems for that service. The people embedded in Lois’s care system have documented connections to the person whose conduct is the cause of her need for care.
Is the counselor a mandated reporter?
Yes. Under Michigan law, mental health professionals are mandated reporters with legal obligations to file reports when there is reasonable cause to believe abuse, neglect, or exploitation is occurring. Given the documented conditions at Lois’s property, whether that obligation has been fulfilled is an unresolved question. The counselor could also be a significant witness in any future proceeding.
What media outlets have covered Lois’s story?
The Daily Mail, MSN, Yahoo News, and WLNS (Lansing) have all covered the case. Despite international reach, Ionia County officials — the township board, Sheriff, and Prosecutor — have maintained silence and taken no enforcement action as of the date of this report.
Lois Laroe’s nightmare is finally making waves in places she never imagined. The Daily Mail, MSN, and Yahoo News have all amplified her story. Hundreds of thousands of readers now know that in Ionia County, Michigan, an elderly woman has spent years being terrorized by reckless gunfire and explosions — suffering significant acoustic trauma — because Ionia Township officials and law enforcement refuse to enforce basic laws against her neighbor, Casey Wagner, Michigan DOC employee.
Every gunshot is painful, worsening her medical condition and begging the question of why elderly or disability rights advocacy groups were not contacted and to this day are not involved.
But there’s even more that the headlines haven’t yet covered: the hidden mental health crisis that Casey’s conduct has created, and the local power connections that keep Lois trapped in this situation.
When Your Home Becomes a War Zone
For months, Lois’s mental health care team from Ionia County’s The Right Door has refused to come to her home.
Why? Because it’s too dangerous.
My support person is not allowed to come to my home because of Casey’s behavior and for safety reasons with the explosives and gunfire. My counselor can’t treat my PTSD because of the ongoing shooting and explosives. Her boss told her that she wasn’t allowed.
— Lois Laroe, to Clutch Justice
Imagine living with PTSD, profound hearing loss, and constant fear — only to be told by the very people who should help you that they’re too afraid to come to your home to provide that help. That is what Lois faces every day because explosions, gunfire, and intimidation have become her normal. This isn’t a failing of Lois. It is a catastrophic failure of local leadership and accountability.
Following the Conflict of Interest
The connections between the agency that’s supposed to protect Lois and those complicit in creating her medical conditions are not incidental.
Institutional Conflict Map The Right Door / Ionia County
Lois LaroeClient of The Right Door for PTSD treatment caused by Wagner’s conduct. Home unsafe for professional visits. Counselor prohibited from providing in-home care.
Casey WagnerMichigan DOC employee; source of ongoing explosions and gunfire rendering Lois’s property dangerous
Amanda HodgesEmployee of The Right Door — the same agency providing Lois’s care; in a relationship with Wagner; daughter of Commissioner David Hodges
Commissioner David HodgesIonia County Board of Commissioners; sits on the board of The Right Door and receives per diems for that service; father of Amanda Hodges
Lois’s CounselorMandated reporter under Michigan law; prohibited from home visits by supervisors; has not been engaged as a witness in any proceeding; whether mandated reporter obligations have been fulfilled is unresolved
So while Lois is forced to go without in-home treatment for her trauma — treatment she is entitled to receive — the people who both created and excuse the danger are deeply embedded in the very system responsible for protecting her.
Unresolved Questions
Whether The Right Door has ever contacted senior services or any other agencies that could further protect Lois is unknown. Whether the Sheriff’s Office has been in contact with Lois’s provider — who could be a powerful witness and provide expert as well as firsthand testimony on Wagner’s conduct — is unknown. Lois’s counselor is a mandated reporter under Michigan law. Whether that obligation has been fulfilled given the documented conditions is an open question that deserves a direct answer.
When conflicts of interest run this deep through the institutions designed to serve a vulnerable person, the question of whether Ionia County cares about its most vulnerable residents is not rhetorical. It is the question that the record forces.
Veteran Populations in Ionia County
If veterans living in the Ionia County area also suffer from PTSD — and the documented rates of service-connected PTSD among veterans suggest many do — the ongoing explosions and gunfire represent a documented public health threat that extends beyond Lois. Ionia County is becoming a place veterans with PTSD would not want to call home, because they would receive no protection or ordinance enforcement.
National Headlines, Local Silence
Lois’s story is now international news. The Daily Mail, MSN, Yahoo News, and WLNS have all covered it. But where is the local action? Where are the township officials demanding enforcement? Where is the prosecutor? Where is accountability for the people who let this continue for years?
The next logical step for Lois is legal action. When you shine a light on broken systems, you help not just Lois — you help every vulnerable person who is one bad neighbor away from losing everything.
What Comes Next
- If you live in Ionia County, speak up. Demand answers from your township, your county board, and your local mental health agency about why care is being withheld from a client while employees connected to the problem remain in place.
- If you see corruption and conflicts of interest, bring them up at Board meetings. Share your story with Clutch.
- Sign and share Lois’s petition so it cannot be ignored.
Cite This Article
MLA 9
Williams, Rita. “Home Deemed Unsafe for Social Worker Visits: Ionia County Officials’ Silence Continues, Prevents Treatment.” Clutch Justice, 14 July 2025, clutchjustice.com/2025/07/14/lois-laroes-story-hits-the-daily-mail-ionia-county-officials-silence-continues/.
Work With Rita Williams · Clutch Justice
“I map how institutions hide from accountability. That map is what I sell.”
02 Procedural Abuse Pattern Recognition
01 Government Accountability & Institutional Forensics
