Please help me fight for the well-being of my son

I am a divorced mother of an amazing 13 year old son. I have been a teacher in my community for 20 years, 15 of which were teaching special needs, before I switched to teaching Intensive Reading, all at the high school level.

Shortly after getting married I found myself in an abusive relationship, physically and emotionally. It took a lot of support, strength, perseverance and time to escape this relationship and we both continue to deal with the negative effects of this relationship. I lost a lot and had to rebuild almost everything.

I was told I fared well in the divorce settlement, as I have sole and exclusive parental authority and my son only has to go with his father every other weekend and rotate holidays. So I tried to support this and adhere to the orders, knowing in my gut it was not good for my son. As a result, I have watched the ill effects of this relationship take a toll on my son’s well-being, his relationships and every aspect of his life. My son was also recently diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic. So now more than ever it is imperative that I help reduce the stress in my son’s life as we work to manage his diabetes and get him healthy, safe and strong. I did not want to go into all the details but it has been an extremely tough and long broken road to say the least.

I am in the process of working through some court issues and am going to fight with everything I have to help my son heal and to know that he is safe and loved very much.

After a recent court date this past Friday, I learned that I cannot fight this battle on my own in the courts. I was going through legal aid and they have helped with some of the paperwork, but they do not provide legal representation in court. I need legal representation. To help me protect our home and provide a peaceful and safe environment so that I can give my son the opportunity to grow into the man that God intended for him to be. Which leads me to my purpose for writing this request. I am unable to afford the attorney fees on my own, it is so expensive and I must humble myself to ask for your help. My family and close friends have helped so much over the years and they continue too, but I need more help to retain an attorney this time. I would be forever grateful. This is another one of the times that I need support to make it through this. Having an attorney will make a significant difference in the progress I can make and will help me help my son.

ENOUGH, it is time to end the abuse! I just want my son to feel safe, confident, strong, happy, healthy and most of all loved.

Thank you in advance for your help, prayers and support, I love you all and I could not do this without you.