Main fundraiser photo

Help bring my baby home

Donation protected

"Mother's love is peace. It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved."

~Erich Fromm~



I am a mother hoping to reach the hearts of anyone who has known the helplessness of loss or suffered incomprehensible pain, particularly in regards to your children. My beautiful baby boy is almost 18 months old now with a smile that lights up the room and my heart.

He is brilliant, inquisitive and everything you would expect a toddler to be. He captured my heart the moment he took his first breath and there it has stayed. I am proud to be his mother.
But he does not know who I am.
My son was forcibly taken from me when he was 8 weeks old by his father; and after my PTSD was distorted in court to portray me as unfit, no amount of professional testimony stating otherwise mattered. I could not get him back then; the speculation, assumption and stigma weighed more heavily then any factual presentation. I could not hold a candle to the money and connections my son's father has; what I have is the truth and prayer which has not counted for much thus far.
So for over a year I have endured the agonizing pain and betrayal of having all of my son's first moments stolen from me, of fighting relentlessly to dispute the stigma associated with mental illness and trying to alleviate the distress this all has caused in my eight year old daughter's life. My little girl just cannot understand why her brother can't come home, why things are so horribly wrong now; she has only seen him 4 or 5 times in the past year. My time with my baby has been completely at the whim of his father; I've only been able to see him 1-4 hours a week through all of this. It is the worst kind of pain. I've been invested in spreading awareness on mental health discrimination in the hopes I can help prevent this from happening to others. You can read more detailed accounts of my story at my website: www.jacquelineanncostlow.com

All of this has come with an enormous financial burden that I am continually overwhelmed by. One year and $30,000 later I find myself depleted on every front. Trial is just around the corner, April 22nd 2014, and I've finally gained the support of the judge and best interest attorney who have been able to witness the hostility and abuse of power I've been subjected to by him; they're recommendation at mediation was for me to regain my rights into joint custody. With my son's father refusing any ammendments the decision of my baby's future will rest in the hands of a different judge at trial. In order for me to continue fighting and meet varying requirements that are critical for a positive outcome I find myself having to acquire $12,000. Unlike the other party, I live on my own without monetary support from my parents and have every day expenses to pay as well as these astronomical legal expenses. I am reaching out to all of you for help, because I cannot allow myself to believe I have come so far only to lose because of financial limitations. I am only human and do the best I can. Please open your hearts and minds to helping me end this injustice so I can finally tell my daughter her brother is coming home.
Please feel free to email me with any questions and thank you for reading.

Bless all of you.

A rare picture of the three of us.

Organizer

Jacqueline Costlow
Organizer
Hagerstown, MD

Your easy, powerful, and trusted home for help

  • Easy

    Donate quickly and easily.

  • Powerful

    Send help right to the people and causes you care about.

  • Trusted

    Your donation is protected by the  GoFundMe Giving Guarantee.