Help Yasmin stay with her Nana
Donation protected
On September 4th, 2018 a young, beautiful life was taken, too soon. Tori Gena Hysmith lost her life. Tori was a daughter, sister, niece, granddaughter, friend, but most of all she was a mommy. She left behind her beautiful, 4 year old daughter, Yasmin.
Yasmin and her maternal grandmother, whom she calls "Nana", have been close since her birth. Yasmin's Nana moved to Kentucky to be near her and Tori when she was born. Tori and Yasmin ended up moving in with her in December 2015. They all lived in KY until they moved back to Louisiana, November 2016. They lived together until May 2017, when Tori made the decision to try and put her family back together. She moved, with Yasmin, to Mishawaka, IN with Yasmin's father. Even though they moved to another state, Tori and Yasmin still continued to visit and stay with her Nana for months at a time. Sometimes Yasmin would come to Louisiana to visit without her mommy. Yasmin and her Nana are and always have been very close.
When Tori unexpectedly passed away, Yasmin was left in her Nana's care for almost 10 months. On June 29, 2019 her father came to Louisiana and brought Yasmin to live with him in Illinois. Yasmin and her Nana were heartbroken, but they made the best of the situation and FaceTimed each other as often as they possibly could. Then on January 14, 2020 an unfortunate incident with her father happened. Yasmin FaceTimed her Nana and asked her to come get her. Since she was not legally allowed to go get her at that time, Yasmin was left in the care of her paternal grandparents who were here visiting from Palestine. They had no way of communicating with Yasmin since they do not speak English. They are not licensed drivers in the United States so they were not able to get her to preschool, go anywhere she needed to go or even go to the store to get food and necessities. They were completely reliant on someone else to bring Yasmin to and from preschool and get food and necessities.
Yasmin's Nana found this out and flew to Chicago. She was told that Yasmin's father and her paternal grandparents were planning on taking Yasmin out of the country to live in Palestine.
Yasmin's Nana petitioned the courts, in Illinois, for custody of Yasmin since she has been with her the majority of her life, Yasmin is a United States citizen and her Nana can provide a stable life for her. On February 4, 2020, her Nana was granted temporary custody and Yasmin is now back in Louisiana with her. However, this is still an ongoing court issue. The Judge has assigned Yasmin her own attorney that must be paid, in addition to the attorney that her Nana has hired to help her with this issue. So far, with the help from friends and family, her Nana has been able to pay the attorneys fees and the travel expenses. There is another court date scheduled for April 13, 2020, which has been postponed until further notice, due to the Corona Virus outbreak.
There is a lot of work being done by the lawyers for both Yasmin and her Nana, and there are other costs like filing fees. So far, her Nana has paid all of the hourly attorney's fees and costs for herself and Yasmin's attorney.
Through this GoFundMe we are hoping to raise enough money for the attorney fees and travel cost for Yasmin's Nana in her endeavor to get permanent custody and to keep Yasmin here in the United States, which has always been home to her.
Yasmin and her maternal grandmother, whom she calls "Nana", have been close since her birth. Yasmin's Nana moved to Kentucky to be near her and Tori when she was born. Tori and Yasmin ended up moving in with her in December 2015. They all lived in KY until they moved back to Louisiana, November 2016. They lived together until May 2017, when Tori made the decision to try and put her family back together. She moved, with Yasmin, to Mishawaka, IN with Yasmin's father. Even though they moved to another state, Tori and Yasmin still continued to visit and stay with her Nana for months at a time. Sometimes Yasmin would come to Louisiana to visit without her mommy. Yasmin and her Nana are and always have been very close.
When Tori unexpectedly passed away, Yasmin was left in her Nana's care for almost 10 months. On June 29, 2019 her father came to Louisiana and brought Yasmin to live with him in Illinois. Yasmin and her Nana were heartbroken, but they made the best of the situation and FaceTimed each other as often as they possibly could. Then on January 14, 2020 an unfortunate incident with her father happened. Yasmin FaceTimed her Nana and asked her to come get her. Since she was not legally allowed to go get her at that time, Yasmin was left in the care of her paternal grandparents who were here visiting from Palestine. They had no way of communicating with Yasmin since they do not speak English. They are not licensed drivers in the United States so they were not able to get her to preschool, go anywhere she needed to go or even go to the store to get food and necessities. They were completely reliant on someone else to bring Yasmin to and from preschool and get food and necessities.
Yasmin's Nana found this out and flew to Chicago. She was told that Yasmin's father and her paternal grandparents were planning on taking Yasmin out of the country to live in Palestine.
Yasmin's Nana petitioned the courts, in Illinois, for custody of Yasmin since she has been with her the majority of her life, Yasmin is a United States citizen and her Nana can provide a stable life for her. On February 4, 2020, her Nana was granted temporary custody and Yasmin is now back in Louisiana with her. However, this is still an ongoing court issue. The Judge has assigned Yasmin her own attorney that must be paid, in addition to the attorney that her Nana has hired to help her with this issue. So far, with the help from friends and family, her Nana has been able to pay the attorneys fees and the travel expenses. There is another court date scheduled for April 13, 2020, which has been postponed until further notice, due to the Corona Virus outbreak.
There is a lot of work being done by the lawyers for both Yasmin and her Nana, and there are other costs like filing fees. So far, her Nana has paid all of the hourly attorney's fees and costs for herself and Yasmin's attorney.
Through this GoFundMe we are hoping to raise enough money for the attorney fees and travel cost for Yasmin's Nana in her endeavor to get permanent custody and to keep Yasmin here in the United States, which has always been home to her.
Organizer and beneficiary
Cassie Shattuck
Organizer
Denham Springs, LA
Candice Dearman
Beneficiary