Imagine.

You step out of the vehicle and wave goodbye to your friends. You didn't want to leave, but you have to. You know this isn't a safe area, so you put your keys between your fingers. You become hyper aware of your surroundings. Is anything off? Anything different? Will you make it to the end of the night unharmed or will you be attacked again? You know this area isn't safe, you've been attacked before. You have even called the cops. As a matter of fact, at one point you had called them 6 times over a period of 3 months. But they haven't helped. Nothing has helped. You want to move, but you can't. So you put one foot in front of the other and walk as quietly as you can. You know better than to bring any attention to yourself.

The school bus you stepped off had to drive away. Your friends that you waved goodbye to have no idea what you are going through. The area that is not safe is your home. You know what to look for. Is my Dad home? If so, is there music playing? How loud? The volume and type of music often indicates what mood he is in. You've called the police six times and you have called CPS twice, and they always end the same, with no change. Absolutely no change. Your Dad is a doctor, so he treats your every injury at home. There is no medical proof. You are 14 years old, and this has been going on for as long as you have memory.

My name is Gloria and I am the biological aunt of the little girl I spoke for above. I, like so many others, had no idea what was happening inside my neice's home. She knew if she ever told anyone her story, there would be hell to pay. So can you begin to imagine what it felt like to wake up one morning to this text message (below).

My neice was able to sneak her Dad's phone long enough to get this message to me. She is asking me to help her by letting her sister (through me) know she needed help. She quickly deleted this message.

You see, she finally had the courage to call Child Protective Services (for the 3rd time). As soon as her parents were notified of an investigation, her parents forcefully put her in the car, locked her in, and drove her to a cabin in the woods. Her mother drugged her with a sedative, then the torture, abuse, guilt, and manipulation began. The goal was to manipulate her into recanting her complaint to CPS. They have been successful doing this twice before. But my neice, the Sneeky Minx got a message out. We were able to find her and now she and her little brother are in the protective custody of the state of Georgia.

I know one thing for certain. I am going to file for emergency protective custody of both children. I know that I can provide a safe, loving home for them. I can protect them from their father. I have an amazing support system that is willing to help. So you might be wondering why I have asked for so much money. So let me explain.

1. My neice and her family live in Tennessee.

2. My neice and nefew were found and taken into protective custody in Georgia.

3. I live in California.

Proposed budget.

• I have to hire 2 lawyers and file for custody in 2 states (TN and GA), approximately $6000 respectively. ($3000 each state). This portion of the funds are needed prior to July 26th (our next court date)
• I need to purchase plane tickets for myself and the kids. This is estimated to cost approx. $2800 (about $700 per person per flight x 4). Because I do not have pre-planned days of travel, these tickets will be purchased the day of or the day before needed travel creating a more costly ticket fee.
• First and last months rent. I have a great apartment. I love it and don't want to move. But it is a very small apartment and it does not have room for 2 more children. Particularly since I firmly believe a teenage girl needs her own room. After all, part of her abuse is that she has never had any privacy (there are literally cameras in her room at home - see below) So I have to move into a bigger home. That requires first month rent and a deposit. In this area (San Diego County), rent on a 3+ bedroom house or apartment is approximately $3000-4000 per month, so I am looking at needed $6000-8000 for this.

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• Because it is not safe for the kids to return to their home in Tennessee, (nor do I feel safe going), paying for a moving company +/- police escort to ship their personal belongings is going to cost between $1000-2000 (based on how much their parents allow them to have).

Now we are looking at a lot more than $12,000. Not to mention the additional expense of having 2 more mouths to feed, transport, etc. However, I am not without some savings and not without a job. We wont be in need forever, but this is a lot more than I think the average person can put up very quickly.

So this is why, my benevolent community of friends. I seek any aid that your humanity can spare. It would be mean the world to me to be able to get them acclimated to their new home before school starts in August. But I think it means the difference between life and death for my neice and nefew. Please help if you can.