My name is Mitchel, and I am a father fighting to stay in his children’s lives.

Several years ago I left a domestically abusive relationship. After the separation, my former partner threatened to take our children back to her home country. The thought that I might lose them completely terrified me, so I had no choice but to begin legal proceedings through the family court to try to protect my relationship with them.

What followed was a long and painful journey through the family court system that has changed my life in ways I never imagined.

For the past four years I have been involved in ongoing family court proceedings concerning my children. What began as an attempt to protect my relationship with them slowly turned into a long and exhausting legal battle that has taken an enormous toll on my life.

I live with several diagnosed conditions including bipolar disorder, ADHD, anxiety disorder, and adjustment disorder. I have always tried to manage these as best I can, but the constant pressure, uncertainty, and emotional strain of years of legal proceedings gradually became overwhelming.

During this time I had no family around me to support me. I was facing the court process alone while trying to cope with the emotional pain of being separated from my children.

For two of the four years this process has been ongoing, I have not been able to see them.

Throughout the proceedings the family court repeatedly told me that I needed to engage more with mental health services. I tried to do exactly that. I asked for help again and again, more than seventy times, trying to access support so that I could stabilise my health and meet what the court was asking of me.

However, mental health services repeatedly told me they could not provide further treatment because the ongoing family court proceedings were considered the main source of stress. In effect, I found myself trapped in a situation where the court told me to seek help, while the services I approached told me they could not help while the court case continued.

Despite my efforts to keep going, the pressure continued to build.

Over the course of the legal process I spent more than £30,000 trying to fight to stay in my children’s lives. When my savings ran out, I had no choice but to represent myself in court. Eventually the financial pressure became overwhelming and I had to enter a Debt Relief Order, losing the financial stability I had worked hard to build.

The emotional and financial strain eventually pushed my mental health past breaking point.

After years of stress, isolation, and the pain of being separated from my children, I attempted to take my own life by trying to hang myself. I survived, but as a result I was sectioned under the Mental Health Act and admitted to hospital.

While trying to recover, another serious problem has emerged. My landlord has increased my rent to a level I cannot afford. When I am discharged from hospital I am now facing the very real possibility of homelessness, at a time when I am trying to rebuild my life and stabilise my mental health.

Right now it feels like the past four years have taken almost everything from me. My health, my financial stability, my home, and precious time with my children have all been deeply affected.

All I am trying to do now is rebuild a stable and safe life so that I can recover and remain present in my children’s lives.

The support I am asking for is simply to help me rebuild a stable foundation.

When I am discharged from hospital I will need to secure a new place to live. My goal is to find a small two-bedroom rented property so that I can stabilise my health, return to work, and create a safe home where my children can spend time with me again.

Having suitable housing is extremely important for the family court process. Without stable accommodation it will be very difficult for me to rebuild my relationship with my children and demonstrate that I can provide them with a safe and secure environment.

Donations will help me with:

• Securing a new rented home and deposit

• Essential living costs while I recover and return to work

• Basic furniture and household items needed to create a stable home

• Continuing to engage with mental health support as I rebuild my life

• Practical costs involved in continuing the family court process

Right now I am trying to rebuild from almost nothing. After the financial cost of the legal proceedings and my recent hospitalisation, I simply do not have the resources to start again on my own.

I never imagined I would be in a position where I had to ask strangers for help. After I stopped drinking more than ten years ago, I slowly drifted away from the life and people I once knew, and since moving away from where I grew up I have found myself completely alone with no close family or support around me.

Right now I truly have no one else to turn to.

More than anything, I am trying to rebuild my life so that I can be the father my children deserve. Being separated from them has been the hardest thing I have ever experienced, and I cannot describe how much it would mean to have the chance to rebuild a stable life where they can be part of it again.

If you are able to help in any way, whether through a donation or simply by sharing this page, it would mean more to me than I can put into words. Your support could help me rebuild my life, recover my health, and work toward being present in my children’s lives again.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story.