She Belongs With Her Siblings - Help Us Reunite

After years of raising her, she's been pulled away from her siblings, Great Grandmother and me, and I'm despearate to reunite us. These funds will be used to hire an attorney to help bring her home!

My name is Cathe and my oldest granddaughter was just 9 months old when she and her mom came to live with me full-time. By February 2022, I was raising her and her younger sister. By Febraury 2024, her youngest brother joined them, their great grandmother and me.

Our home is small, but it's filled with stability, love, and safety.

This past March, my daughter, who struggles with addiction, got into an argument with me in front of her two youngest children. CPS stepped in and filed a dependency and neglect case. I fully cooperated, and after months of proving my ability to provide a safe and loving home, the case was dismissed on June 30.

But on July 30, everything changed. My oldest granddaughter's father told me he wanted her to attend school in Grand Junction, and then he took her. After years of being with me and her siblings, she was suddenly pulled from the only stable home she's ever known.

I am heartbroken for her and terrified of the emotional toll this is taking. She belongs here, where her siblings are, where her family is, and where she knows she is loved and safe.

I have filed for Allocation of Parental Rights and am fighting for custody so I can continue providing her with the security and stability she deserves. I started this without an attorney; however, following an ER custody hearing I initiated, the Magistrate on the case changed his order from earlier in the week and left her in Grand Junction. It didn't matter to him that her 3-year-old sister is crying daily, asking when her older sister is coming home. It doesn't matter to him that the older sister, who is 7, has regressed to baby talk. She was ripped out of her home and taken from friends she has had since preschool. This is a small town where children generally start school and end up graduating together. These are lifelong friendships she was torn from, including her "Bestie." This decision was made with no consideration for either her or her siblings and the traumatic effect on them.

I have decided I need an attorney, and the attorney I need requires a $5,000 retainer—money I simply don't have. I have searched out loans, but my credit just isn't where it needs to be to qualify. I work full-time, am the primary caregiver for my grandchildren, and also my elderly mother.

I am humbly asking for your help. Every dollar raised will go directly toward legal fees to fight for her return. If you cannot donate, please consider sharing this campaign with others who might be able to help.

Your kindness can make the difference between a child being raised in love and stability—or not. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading, sharing, and supporting our family.