My name is Ebony Larry and I am the bonus mom to a beautiful 6 year old girl named Saniya. In 2013, at just 6 months old, she came to live with me and her dad and since then we have been blessed to love her, care for her and watch her grow into the amazing little girl she is. I started this GoFundMe page to raise money for a custody attorney. Any blessing that you can contribute would be greatly appreciated and go to making sure that Saniya is safe, happy and healthy.
A lot of people who know me or see my family do not know that Saniya is not my biological daughter. Very FEW people know of the trauma that my family has experienced at the hands of Saniya’s biological mother (BM).
We have been in some very unfortunate domestic circumstances because we live in a society where the court system favors the mother and does not respect active fathers.
From mid-2013 thru early 2017, my husband and I were primary caregivers for Saniya with no help from the BM. Unfortunately she was very unreliable, inconsistent, and unable to provide. My husband was transporting Saniya back and forth across states lines to visit her BM and also supplying clothing, diapers wipes etc. There were numerous instances when my husband and I dreaded sending Saniya for her visitation because of concerns for her safety and welfare. In addition to these concerns, pick up/drop offs became violent.
On more than one occasion, my family has faced domestic violence at the hands of the BM where the child was present. This was a lot to deal with, to say the very least. There have been numerous incidents of verbal and physical abuse and child neglect. BM has shown many signs of mental illness and not only in her interactions with my family. When my husband attempted to get full custody he was denied.
Saniya’s mom has been absent from her life for almost two and half years now. Since 2017, the BM has refused to provide an address where she was living and would resume visitation. She also refused to provide pertinent medical records for care during her last visit. In 2018, she provided a false address. In addition to this blatant refusal to coparent there was other evidence of instability, both physical and mental.
In a recent hearing, my husband was forced to agree to a temporary visitation order that he was not comfortable with. The BM is represented by a free Legal Aid and the magistrate was unwilling to consider the concerns that he voiced about the BM’s ability to provide a safe and stable home for the child. The BM lied on the record and there was no testimony on the issues of neglect, domestic violence and abuse.
While our intention is and was never to deprive Saniya or her BM of a relationship, we can no longer ignore the signs of instability. We need to be sure that Saniya will be safe, well taken care of and that her best interest is considered during her transition back into visitation with her BM.
All that said, we can not return to court without representation. We need to secure an experienced custody attorney to speak to the real issues and not allow the court to take its typical approach. Custody attorneys are very expensive and unfortunately, we are not able to obtain a legal aid because the adverse party is represented by their agency.
I tried to keep this story as brief as possible, still covering all the issues. There are a lot of intricate details that I left out but contribute to the severity of the case. Anything that you can donate is greatly appreciated. Please help us fight to keep Saniya safe.
A lot of people who know me or see my family do not know that Saniya is not my biological daughter. Very FEW people know of the trauma that my family has experienced at the hands of Saniya’s biological mother (BM).
We have been in some very unfortunate domestic circumstances because we live in a society where the court system favors the mother and does not respect active fathers.
From mid-2013 thru early 2017, my husband and I were primary caregivers for Saniya with no help from the BM. Unfortunately she was very unreliable, inconsistent, and unable to provide. My husband was transporting Saniya back and forth across states lines to visit her BM and also supplying clothing, diapers wipes etc. There were numerous instances when my husband and I dreaded sending Saniya for her visitation because of concerns for her safety and welfare. In addition to these concerns, pick up/drop offs became violent.
On more than one occasion, my family has faced domestic violence at the hands of the BM where the child was present. This was a lot to deal with, to say the very least. There have been numerous incidents of verbal and physical abuse and child neglect. BM has shown many signs of mental illness and not only in her interactions with my family. When my husband attempted to get full custody he was denied.
Saniya’s mom has been absent from her life for almost two and half years now. Since 2017, the BM has refused to provide an address where she was living and would resume visitation. She also refused to provide pertinent medical records for care during her last visit. In 2018, she provided a false address. In addition to this blatant refusal to coparent there was other evidence of instability, both physical and mental.
In a recent hearing, my husband was forced to agree to a temporary visitation order that he was not comfortable with. The BM is represented by a free Legal Aid and the magistrate was unwilling to consider the concerns that he voiced about the BM’s ability to provide a safe and stable home for the child. The BM lied on the record and there was no testimony on the issues of neglect, domestic violence and abuse.
While our intention is and was never to deprive Saniya or her BM of a relationship, we can no longer ignore the signs of instability. We need to be sure that Saniya will be safe, well taken care of and that her best interest is considered during her transition back into visitation with her BM.
All that said, we can not return to court without representation. We need to secure an experienced custody attorney to speak to the real issues and not allow the court to take its typical approach. Custody attorneys are very expensive and unfortunately, we are not able to obtain a legal aid because the adverse party is represented by their agency.
I tried to keep this story as brief as possible, still covering all the issues. There are a lot of intricate details that I left out but contribute to the severity of the case. Anything that you can donate is greatly appreciated. Please help us fight to keep Saniya safe.