Family, friends, and community members both near and far, we have created this go fund me in an attempt to gain support to save our sweet girl, Hopie. Hope has suffered unimaginable trauma in her short life and has recently lost her way. Her life has come to a crossroads where in one direction she is swallowed up by the trauma and destruction in her path, and another in which we take drastic measures to save her life. Please read our story and consider investing in her life, and helping us give Hope the chance she deserves at a full and redeemed future.

Our story begins in 2014, when we were unexpectedly given the blessing and responsibility of raising our nieces, Hope and Emily, who were respectively six and two years old at the time. Their biological parents had lost their way to addiction and crime and could no longer care for their children. In May of 2015 we also took in their newborn brother Aiden, who was born premature at 27 weeks and spent 68 days in the NICU fighting for his life. Very quickly our family of five became a family of eight, and what was meant to be a temporary situation became permanent. We soon went from being their aunt and uncle, to temporary legal guardians, and eventually to being their mom and dad.

As a child, Hope would face her first battle of being diagnosed with leukemia and fighting for her life, in the same years she was learning to walk. Thanks to God and an amazing team of doctors she won this battle, only to face new hardships shortly after. Hope would soon feel her foundation rocked beneath her again as her parents found themselves wrapped up in very serious addiction which led to Hope witnessing drug use and criminal activity. She lost her home, her security, and her parents and was left in a very precarious situation, caring for her then 2-year-old sister all on her own. This sudden loss was very traumatic for Hope and when she came into our home, she went to counseling for 3 years to help her recover.

This brought a new beginning for Hope as she quickly and eagerly assimilated into her new environment and began to thrive. She loved going to church, school, making friends, and tried many activities including gymnastics, basketball, and volleyball. As she tried to move on, Hope would watch her parents go from prison, to treatment and back again many times over the years. She held onto the prayer that they would overcome their battle and they could all be a family again one day. That prayer came shattering down on her recently when she lost her mom last year to a sudden death by overdose. This was a devastating event in all the kids’ lives, but it hit Hope the hardest.

Hope’s behaviors rapidly deteriorated after losing her mom. Her habits, activities and mood all started to change and go down a destructive path. She began looking for validation in all the wrong places and developed very harmful friendships. We discovered that she had a secret phone and was essentially living a second life that she hid from her family which included self-destructive behaviors like cutting, vaping and a very dangerous eating disorder. She had periods of deep depression and suicidal ideation. We have been desperate to get her help and tried everything that we could to help her turn her course around, but unfortunately Hope has taken our intervention as a threat to her lifestyle and has lashed out further. As a result she started to get in legal problems when she began to steal, run away, and file false claims. We have been forced to turn to a local psychiatric institution for help to stabilize her mental state and prevent her from self harm.

Through her multiple stays at the psych hospital it has been determined by her psychologist, medical provider, and social worker that Hope needs long-term trauma therapy and behavioral retraining to save her future from this devastation. Thankfully we have found an incredible program that is set up to do just that and more. Hope has been accepted into the program and we are so thankful for this opportunity for her. We literally feel like we are fighting for her life and her future and have such a small window of time to make an impact before she turns 18 and we lose all decision-making power to help her.

Now this takes us to today- if Hope's story has touched you or resonated with you in any way, please take a moment to say a prayer for her deliverance and the healing of her mind and heart. If you are willing and able, please consider donating to help us pay for Hope’s rehabilitation. This is a 15-month program, and the cost is $4,200 a month. We are going to do everything in our power, with the help of Jesus, our family, and our community to make this possible for Hope. To give her a chance for a whole, healed, and beautiful future. Thank you so much for taking the time to read her story and hear our heart.