Housing for Heather and Baby

My sister and I are trying to raise funds for our cousin, Heather. Her pride and fear of embarrassment are too strong for her to ask for help herself, however, she needs any help she can receive for her and her 10-month-old-son, Ziggy.

The funds that we hope to raise will be used for living expenses for Heather to maintain her forced residency in Hawaii during a custody battle with her estranged husband.

Allow us to start from the beginning with Heather's story...

Heather met her husband on eHarmony a couple of years ago. They instantly clicked. She packed up and left her life in Wisconsin to move to Hawaii to be with the charming man she met on the dating website. They proceeded to get married and quickly became pregnant. They were both over the moon about becoming parents that would soon take place in their lives.

In late October of 2015, their beautiful son, Ziggy came into this world. Heather was fortunate enough to have a husband who was able to be the sole provider which allowed her to spend all of her time caring for their precious newborn son.

After a few months, Heather began to see a different side of her husband. He became mentally abusive and displayed a very quick temper. His patience with Ziggy was short. Since Heather had not seen her family in Wisconsin for over a year, she and her husband decided that a short separation may do some good for their relationship. They both agreed Heather would go on a 90 day visit to Wisconsin from June 27, 2016 until September 27, 2016.

In August, after only five weeks into her trip home, she received an “Emergency Custody Order” filed by her husband, which court-ordered her to return to Hawaii with Ziggy immediately. Heather complied with this legal Order and within three days returned to Hawaii only to find herself without custody of Ziggy. The Order was filed under false allegations which accused Heather of being an "unfit mother". She was devastated and deeply hurt that the man who was supposed to love her and their son was doing this to her out of spite.

The false allegations conjured by her husband which cited alcohol and drug use were complete lies. Heather was ordered to take multiple drugs tests which she did and of course, they were all negative.

During this time, Heather pleaded with her husband to please allow her to at least see their son so she could continue to nurse Ziggy as she had been doing since he was born. Her husband outright refused and would not even accept the milk she pumped for his nourishment let alone continue her maternal bond with Ziggy.

The first Custody Hearing was on Monday August 29, 2016. During this hearing, the Judge reprimanded her husband and also his lawyer for not disclosing information that verified the mutual 90 day visit in the “Emergency Custody Order.”  The Judge vacated that Order and set up a shared schedule of custody until the final decision is made.

In the meantime, Heather is forced to remain in Hawaii with no finances or income to pay for the extremely high costs of living costs that Hawaiian residents are accustomed to. While she continues to diligently seek employment without success, her husband agreed to pay for only the first month of her month-to-month apartment and refuses to help after that.

This is where our request for help plays its’ role. The next custody hearing is scheduled for late October, at which time Heather's lawyer plans to request her husband to be ordered to help Heather financially.  Heather just needs to make it to this hearing without losing her housing situation.  If she becomes homeless in Hawaii, then she could very well be deemed "unfit" in the eyes of the Court which is her husband's plan.

Our cousin, Heather just wants the best for her son and feels that shared custody would be fair to both parents. However, her husband is trying everything within his power to make sure she is not able to ever see her son again. She needs to stay in Hawaii at this time to continue the fight for shared or even full custody let alone keep her son in her life. She has to somehow do this while not having the financial means to keep a roof over her own head.  (In the past year and a half she did not have to maintain employment during and after her pregnancy because of the support she willingly received from her husband).

In summary, Heather is trying very hard to help herself in this situation and adamantly looking for employment. She is too prideful to sulk in self-pity or to ask for help, (even from her family). So we are asking for your help for her.  Anything donated will be greatly appreciated, even $2. If you are unable to donate, we ask that you please help, by praying for Heather and sharing this link on your social media outlets.

We thank you for taking the time to read Heather's story and are very grateful for any help you can provide, even if it is just sharing this link.