I’m a single mother to my beautiful daughter Zola, who turns 3 next month. Her father is suing me for primary custody. During a recent visit to Georgia, he filed the case there in an attempt to gain legal jurisdiction, which now limits Zola from leaving the state without his permission.

Until the start of this case, I was her full-time, stay-at-home mom in Los Angeles, CA, where her and I father, not only met and conceived Zola, but where we raised her for more than half of life. Her father and I had agreed I’d raise her while he provided financially. But over time, our relationship became emotionally, verbally, and financially abusive. We separated in October 2024 after a frightening incident where he forcefully took Zola from me in public and drove off with her—resulting in a child endangerment charge.

Since birth, I’ve been extremely intentional with Zola’s development—nurturing her with a safe home birth, homemade meals, limited screen time, and meaningful, educational interactions. But since being with her father following the lawsuit he filed during her visit with him, many of these positive habits have started to fade. He has restricted my access to her, only allowing visits in his Georgia home under his supervision and often denying virtual visits entirely.

I never attempted to cut her father out of her life. I believed we could co-parent, and I was led to believe that he was working toward a co-parenting situation with me as well. This is the reason I agreed to allowing visitation with him. My intention was to give him an opportunity to have a visit with his daughter in the comfort of his own home. Instead of us continuing to work together amicably, he chose to fight me for sole custody of Zola and will only entertain 50/50 custody if I uproot and move to Atlanta, GA.

I’m fighting to preserve my rights and protect Zola’s wellbeing—but legal fees and travel costs are mounting. If you’re able to support, it would mean everything to help me stay in this fight for my daughter. Thank you so much.