3 children who’ve lost their mom ❤️

Thank you for considering a donation or share in support of Amber and the 3 children of her Cousin, Ashley. Ashley passed away last week very unexpectedly and the family is absolutely devastated. Custody of her 3 children went to Amber, and what began as temporary custody became permanent with Ashley’s death. 

Amber was not prepared to sustain the needs of these three children indefinitely but loves them deeply and is struggling not only to cover the cost of funeral needs but also the basic needs of the children and their housing, as she was already housing and supporting her mother as well.

Amber has a huge heart and works full time for a non-profit in the Opioid Crisis in Orlando Fl.

I work on the team with her and seeing her carry this alone is just too much.

If anyone deserves relief in this time, it’s Amber and these 3 children.

Amber gives all the time, in every way she can. She is the first to volunteer and to do it with joy. She needs support as they mourn the loss of Ashley, and as she helps these three children recover from this loss and be provided for indefinitely into the future. Please help in any way you can. I truly believe that every dollar helps. Thank you so much.

Amber’s Statement: 

Our story began in October 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic and a statewide shutdown, I found out my three young cousins had been put into the foster system in South Carolina. Their father, incarcerated and addicted. Their mother, and my cousin, deep in her addiction. By November of that year, I had told the courts I would take all three kids, Skyler 15, Gavin 13, and Finnley 5, into my home and care for them until their mother could make things right. 

 After Nine grueling months of vigorous interviews and home studies and paperwork and courts and trips to SC and monthly video calls and moving from a 2br to a 4br house and furnishing 3 bedrooms, completely depleting my savings, on August 2, 2021 I would finally pick them up and bring them back to their new home with me. In the midst of all that, we reconnected with my cousin, their mother, and we’re fortunate enough to convince her to move down to Florida, and over that time, she was able to get clean from the drug use and work on her recovery. 

 Ever since, we have spent the time trying to heal our family, create a supportive environment for the kids to thrive, work through trauma, adjust to new boundaries, schools, communities, family dynamics.

 Learning how to be a parent to kids at three drastically different stages in life, who have seen and experienced things you wouldn’t even imagine in your worst nightmares. And through it all we are working with no financial stability - we fall through every crack in the system and don’t qualify for benefits. Inflation and rising cost of living keeping me from catching a break. 

 As we entered the new year, we were in a place of healing and growth. We had formed this unique dynamic family, where the kid’s mother was able to be in their life in a real way.. all of which was good for healing as well. The universe sometimes has other plans, and devastatingly my cousin, my kid’s mother… Ashley, los her battle with her addiction, on Wednesday February 22, 2023.

 I did everything I could to help her heal - but it wasn’t enough to outweigh the damage that had already been done. The only thing I can do now, is try to give her children… my children… a chance to break the cycle, to heal, and to thrive. I have taken on this role, knowing that choosing to be a parent is a forever decision. I will do whatever it takes, that’s the job.