<div>Hi — I’m Beth: a mother, artist, writer, and musician, living an horror show not even I can believe sometimes, but it’s true. 
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<div>I had <span>been told I could not have children. Shortly after most of my family died,  I miraculously conceived. That miracle has been overshadowed by betrayal, violence, and a sustained campaign to destroy my life and separate me from my son. </span>
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<div><span> My fiancé chose drugs over parenting and became violent; when I asked him to leave, he and his family retaliated. They slandered me, drained my bank account, orchestrated evictions and car accidents, stole all my belongings, and repeatedly interfered with my relationship with my child. </span>
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<div><span>Immediately after my son’s birth, the paternal grandmother impeded hospital care and delayed treatment when I was critically ill; &amp; somehow convinced doctors to needlessly put my newborn was needlessly put on MORPHINE, and kept in the NICU, where I was too sick to visit for a month. The hospital never brought him to see me, but doctors admitted the morphine was a mistake; my son was autistic and had a hereditary movement disorder, both things I worked every day, with the help of regional, to resolve within my son so he could focus on his strengths, not his weaknesses. </span>
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<div><span>When I fought to protect my child, the paternal family and a man I trusted as a stepfather began repeatedly contacting DCFS with false and misleading reports. On April 26, 2025, I was “gang robbed”: by people my step dad said he “Paid thousands” to move us… they instead stole and destroyed our possessions, leaving us stranded at McArthur Park with no phone, no charger, no keys, and no way to call for help. They stole my purse containing all my IDs, credit cards, and every medication I rely on—creating a medical and legal crisis. My DCFS social worker has since misrepresented these events in reports and is denying me contact with my son. I have not seen or spoken to him in eight months.

I have no family to turn to. I am currently homeless with three pets and possess only a fraction of what we need to get by. I have no reliable transportation, identifying documents, or the basic necessities to attend court, obtain records, or secure legal counsel. I face pending hearings I cannot properly attend.

I am asking for urgent help to:
1) Secure immediate safety: funds to rent a vehicle so I can shelter my children and animals, travel safely to appointments and court, and store the few belongings we have left. I will also use it to intain the certificates and documents we need to have. </span>
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<div><span> 2) Obtain justice: funds for court costs, records, parking, essential tests (such as a hair-follicle drug test), and, if possible, an experienced attorney to challenge these false allegations and pursue reunification.
3) Pursue accountability: once stabilized, funds will all go to pursue legal action against DCFS for negligent and biased conduct and to expose systemic failures that harm vulnerable families.

If you donate, funds will be used first for immediate safety—a rental car and care for my animals—then for court-related expenses and legal support. When my son is safely returned, I will dedicate resources to secure robust legal representation to challenge DCFS and pursue reform and accountability.

I am not asking anyone to do my work for me—only to help make it possible for me to do it. My abusers rely on my lack of resources to silence me. With your help, I can fight for my son, defend my rights, and seek justice for others harmed by abuse and institutional failure.

I’ve attached a photo of the car reservation I’ve made; I am still a few hundred dollars short. This vehicle would provide one month of shelter. I am connected with a housing agency and a mental-health provider and call 211 regularly, but funding cuts have depleted available resources. There is currently no domestic-violence funding in my area; agencies tell me they have no money to help.

Please help me stay safe, reunite with my son, and pursue justice. Any support is profoundly appreciated. Thank you.</span><br />
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Lucretia Smith

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