Help bring Brooklyn home
Donation protected
My name is LaDrina Jones and I am the mother of Brooklyn Piper who was born on July 30, 2013. Brooklyn has resided with me her entire life and recently I lost custody to her father due to a missed court date in June. I lived in Dallas for 8 years but recently I relocated back to my hometown Chicago. After I moved back to Chicago, I was able to buy my own property, land a nice law firm job and apply to Law Schools. Things were looking good for Brooklyn and me because we had our family RIGHT there by our side. The last time I saw and heard from Brooklyn was via FaceTime on November 9, 2019. Brooklyn has not seen her father in at least 1 ½ years and when my daughter first learned that she was going to stay with her father she immediately cried and yelled asking why she could not live a normal life and stay with her mother. Brooklyn was just uprooted from her school and family within a blink of an eye and I know she does not quite understand why.
1. I have tried to co-parent with Brooklyn's dad on a civil level, but he never made it easy for me. Everything has always been a fight from him since day one. He's never helped with any financial support, emotional support and spent very little time with our daughter. When you see me, you see Brooklyn. Brooklyn and I are inseparable and there has never been a time she did not have her mother by her side. My daughter and I go everywhere together whether we are traveling, attending church services, protesting or even going to the mall to eat Aunt Annie’s pretzels. She is my little best friend and side kick that shadows my every move. I often call her my mini roommate that does not pay rent.
2. Brooklyn dad has history of alleged abuse against her. There was an open case with Child Protective Services (CPS), where my daughter told the social worker and her therapist several times about the abuse. Because of her age (at the time she was 4) CPS disregarded the abuse and closed the case after a year. I hate that the system has failed my daughter. While attending therapy, there were a lot of obstacles to overcome. My daughter was consistently wetting the bed and having problems sleeping by herself. She’s had ongoing problems with nightmares and being afraid to be alone. This trauma was extremely intense initially and it caused her to sleep in my bed every night because she was looking for comfort. For the past 2 years it has been a difficult time for me to keep a steady 9-5 job because I needed to support my daughter attend her therapy sessions which would be during the day at times.
3. On October 19, while travelling in Toronto with a group of friends, I was stopped at the Canada/ New York border by at least 8-10 Border Patrol Agents with M-16's forcing me to leave my vehicle. What I did not know is that there was a full extradition warrant from Dallas County for my arrest in connection to a " Child Custody Interference" case. I sat in the Niagara Falls County Jail for 3 weeks not knowing what would happen to me or my daughter. I lost my job; my family spent a lot of money to communicate with me because I was miles and miles away from home that would inhibit them from visiting and my daughter was missing me. Everyday she asked when I was coming home, and I had to lie to her. This was very tough for me. It was even harder for my daughter who thought I was at work while in jail. During my incarceration, I was helping my daughter with homework over the phone and reading books until I would hear the operator lady say, " you have 60 secs left". This was disheartening. Every night the gates closed I felt that there was no hope for me, and I would never see my daughter again. I felt that this was no place for a single mother that take cares of her daughter, why me?
While I know that one day I will see her again, that day seems like it is forever and away. Her father will not let her call me nor let her see me. I have tried calling her father, his mother, his Attorney and any family member in the family. In return he sends me emails and texts notifying me to stop harassing him and that I was a danger to him and Brooklyn. At this point I do not know what to do but turn to the public and ask for help. In result, I had to hire an Attorney who is working diligently to help me through this process, but Attorney fees are expensive and I am asking for ANY assistance to help me bring my daughter home. The father is not cooperating, and it is making it very hard and expensive for me. For anyone who is interested in the case it is filed in the Dallas County 256th District Family Court (https://courtsportal.dallascounty.org/DALLASPROD) case # Df-13-19492.
Please help support with bringing Brooklyn home to her mother and in a safe and sound environment. Thank you!
1. I have tried to co-parent with Brooklyn's dad on a civil level, but he never made it easy for me. Everything has always been a fight from him since day one. He's never helped with any financial support, emotional support and spent very little time with our daughter. When you see me, you see Brooklyn. Brooklyn and I are inseparable and there has never been a time she did not have her mother by her side. My daughter and I go everywhere together whether we are traveling, attending church services, protesting or even going to the mall to eat Aunt Annie’s pretzels. She is my little best friend and side kick that shadows my every move. I often call her my mini roommate that does not pay rent.
2. Brooklyn dad has history of alleged abuse against her. There was an open case with Child Protective Services (CPS), where my daughter told the social worker and her therapist several times about the abuse. Because of her age (at the time she was 4) CPS disregarded the abuse and closed the case after a year. I hate that the system has failed my daughter. While attending therapy, there were a lot of obstacles to overcome. My daughter was consistently wetting the bed and having problems sleeping by herself. She’s had ongoing problems with nightmares and being afraid to be alone. This trauma was extremely intense initially and it caused her to sleep in my bed every night because she was looking for comfort. For the past 2 years it has been a difficult time for me to keep a steady 9-5 job because I needed to support my daughter attend her therapy sessions which would be during the day at times.
3. On October 19, while travelling in Toronto with a group of friends, I was stopped at the Canada/ New York border by at least 8-10 Border Patrol Agents with M-16's forcing me to leave my vehicle. What I did not know is that there was a full extradition warrant from Dallas County for my arrest in connection to a " Child Custody Interference" case. I sat in the Niagara Falls County Jail for 3 weeks not knowing what would happen to me or my daughter. I lost my job; my family spent a lot of money to communicate with me because I was miles and miles away from home that would inhibit them from visiting and my daughter was missing me. Everyday she asked when I was coming home, and I had to lie to her. This was very tough for me. It was even harder for my daughter who thought I was at work while in jail. During my incarceration, I was helping my daughter with homework over the phone and reading books until I would hear the operator lady say, " you have 60 secs left". This was disheartening. Every night the gates closed I felt that there was no hope for me, and I would never see my daughter again. I felt that this was no place for a single mother that take cares of her daughter, why me?
While I know that one day I will see her again, that day seems like it is forever and away. Her father will not let her call me nor let her see me. I have tried calling her father, his mother, his Attorney and any family member in the family. In return he sends me emails and texts notifying me to stop harassing him and that I was a danger to him and Brooklyn. At this point I do not know what to do but turn to the public and ask for help. In result, I had to hire an Attorney who is working diligently to help me through this process, but Attorney fees are expensive and I am asking for ANY assistance to help me bring my daughter home. The father is not cooperating, and it is making it very hard and expensive for me. For anyone who is interested in the case it is filed in the Dallas County 256th District Family Court (https://courtsportal.dallascounty.org/DALLASPROD) case # Df-13-19492.
Please help support with bringing Brooklyn home to her mother and in a safe and sound environment. Thank you!
Organizer
Brooklyn's Way
Organizer
Chicago, IL
