My name is Martis Artis. 2025 went from being the best year of my life to the hardest year of my life. In May, I was falsely accused of being abusive and neglecting my daughter, and a temporary restraining order was placed on me. I had never dealt with the court system before this, so instead of appealing it immediately, I waited a couple of weeks while I got my evidence together to prove my innocence. During this time, I wasn’t allowed to go back to my home or be around my daughter. People made death threats and threats to cause physical harm. I lost so much of my community and felt like my world was falling apart. I appealed it, and the judge dismissed the restraining order after my innocence was proven.

When I returned to my apartment that I lived in with my then-spouse and our baby, I came back to it being emptied by my ex and her family. My daughter Ember wasn’t there. This was after a month of not seeing her. My ex kept my daughter away from me for another month until the next hearing, where the judge said that it is not legal for her to keep her away from me like that. The judge granted her temporary custody because it would be detrimental to Ember to go from spending so much time with her mother to spending 50/50 between her parents. During all of this, I had lost my job and dealt with so many mental health struggles while trying to stay positive and keep my eyes on the goal, which was to finally be reunited with my daughter.

Now I’m back to working full-time and am trying to raise enough money to help me get a lawyer for the hearing in May, as well as catch up on bills so that I can continue to fight to be in my daughter’s life.