Help me keep my son safe legal fund
Donation protected
I’m about to fight the most important legal battle of my life. I am finally being forced to fight for full custody of my son, the absolute most important thing in my life, and I need help to do it. I live paycheck to paycheck (I’ll have a 2nd job asap) and I am terrified of the amount of money I need to come up with very quickly to do what is best for my son.
First let me say this: I am NOT a men’s rights activist (I hate patriarchy). I have zero interest in ever taking my son away from his mother, who does love him, but my son needs me to fight for him right now. This is a very unique situation and I am one of those rare engaged fathers who really deserves support. My son’s mother hates my politics (she is a part of the group of people who actively organized a brutal union-busting campaign against me and my fellow IWW member co-workers) and she has been trying to take my son away from me for years.
This will be my 4th time taking my son’s mom through the family court system. The first time was to simply stop her from completely taking my son away from me and to get joint legal custody. The 2nd time was to deny a request from her to take my son out of his school and move to a small town in another state 4 hours away from me. The 3rd time was to get a court order to get vaccinations. Now I need to seek full legal custody and primary physical custody, because she has gone ahead and basically kidnapped my son. In fact, she moved 4 hours away to another state-- just like a request she brought to family court about two years ago, which was not granted.
My son’s mother just took him out of his school (one of the best schools in Minneapolis, which I have volunteered many hours at), and moved with him to Madeline Island (Wisconsin) without getting my permission. Despite me having joint legal custody she kept this plan a secret from me and I only found out 4 days before she up and moved 4 hours away with my son. I do not own a car, which further complicates things.
I have been raising my son, volunteering at his school, helping him with homework, teaching him my values as a dedicated Wobbly, and have been committed to being an engaged & involved loving father. I’ve centered my life around raising this amazing person, and the thought of him suddenly being taken away from me is terrifying. I want my son to stay here in the Twin Cities, where I live, and where he has lived all of his 8-year-old life, so that I can continue to raise him and have him in my life. This is in jeopardy, but I’m confident that I can now win full custody. I will have him live with me & go to a good school nearby, while his mother can have weekends with him if she sticks with the decision to live in a new place 4 hours away.
I still haven’t finished paying off the debts I incurred from a combination of being on strike and paying for the legal costs of fighting for joint legal custody & the court order to get my son vaccinations. I will be selling all of my music equipment and anything else of value I can sell. I am also already looking for and applying for a 2nd job on top of my current full-time job. My parents have helped me get a $3,000 loan from the bank to pay my lawyer’s initial retainer. It’s quite simply not going to be anywhere near enough. My son is worth every penny it’s going to cost, and I’m going to need to raise the money quickly.
I need your help. Please donate to my legal fund and help me do what I have to as a parent during the most desperate and important battle of my life so far. I desperately need you to think about what you would be willing to donate to help a parent in my situation. Think about what you would be willing to do for your own child, and please help me do the same for mine.
Also I have promised my son that I will never take him completely away from his mother. Taking custody away from her is what is best for my son, but when she is with him she is a loving mother and I will never take that away from my son. I need to take primary custody so that she will never be able to take him away from me, and to protect his education and health, but I will never do to her what she would do to me.
I will first and foremost use this money to pay my lawyer. If I raise enough money to cover my lawyer fees for this entire custody battle, I will also use the money raised to help with related expenses (like traveling to northern Wisconsin to serve court summons papers). Lastly, if I raise enough money, I will also use some of it to help with the costs of relocating my son and replacing any belongings of his if his mother refuses to let him take them with him (clothing, winter coat, boots, school supplies, etc…). If I happen to be fortunate enough to raise enough money here to pay for everything, then I will be keeping track of the people who donated and will return excess funds that are not needed.
Thank you in advance to everyone who donates and makes this possible for me.
Solidarity forever.
-shugE Mississippi (AKA Christopher Allison)
First let me say this: I am NOT a men’s rights activist (I hate patriarchy). I have zero interest in ever taking my son away from his mother, who does love him, but my son needs me to fight for him right now. This is a very unique situation and I am one of those rare engaged fathers who really deserves support. My son’s mother hates my politics (she is a part of the group of people who actively organized a brutal union-busting campaign against me and my fellow IWW member co-workers) and she has been trying to take my son away from me for years.
This will be my 4th time taking my son’s mom through the family court system. The first time was to simply stop her from completely taking my son away from me and to get joint legal custody. The 2nd time was to deny a request from her to take my son out of his school and move to a small town in another state 4 hours away from me. The 3rd time was to get a court order to get vaccinations. Now I need to seek full legal custody and primary physical custody, because she has gone ahead and basically kidnapped my son. In fact, she moved 4 hours away to another state-- just like a request she brought to family court about two years ago, which was not granted.
My son’s mother just took him out of his school (one of the best schools in Minneapolis, which I have volunteered many hours at), and moved with him to Madeline Island (Wisconsin) without getting my permission. Despite me having joint legal custody she kept this plan a secret from me and I only found out 4 days before she up and moved 4 hours away with my son. I do not own a car, which further complicates things.
I have been raising my son, volunteering at his school, helping him with homework, teaching him my values as a dedicated Wobbly, and have been committed to being an engaged & involved loving father. I’ve centered my life around raising this amazing person, and the thought of him suddenly being taken away from me is terrifying. I want my son to stay here in the Twin Cities, where I live, and where he has lived all of his 8-year-old life, so that I can continue to raise him and have him in my life. This is in jeopardy, but I’m confident that I can now win full custody. I will have him live with me & go to a good school nearby, while his mother can have weekends with him if she sticks with the decision to live in a new place 4 hours away.
I still haven’t finished paying off the debts I incurred from a combination of being on strike and paying for the legal costs of fighting for joint legal custody & the court order to get my son vaccinations. I will be selling all of my music equipment and anything else of value I can sell. I am also already looking for and applying for a 2nd job on top of my current full-time job. My parents have helped me get a $3,000 loan from the bank to pay my lawyer’s initial retainer. It’s quite simply not going to be anywhere near enough. My son is worth every penny it’s going to cost, and I’m going to need to raise the money quickly.
I need your help. Please donate to my legal fund and help me do what I have to as a parent during the most desperate and important battle of my life so far. I desperately need you to think about what you would be willing to donate to help a parent in my situation. Think about what you would be willing to do for your own child, and please help me do the same for mine.
Also I have promised my son that I will never take him completely away from his mother. Taking custody away from her is what is best for my son, but when she is with him she is a loving mother and I will never take that away from my son. I need to take primary custody so that she will never be able to take him away from me, and to protect his education and health, but I will never do to her what she would do to me.
I will first and foremost use this money to pay my lawyer. If I raise enough money to cover my lawyer fees for this entire custody battle, I will also use the money raised to help with related expenses (like traveling to northern Wisconsin to serve court summons papers). Lastly, if I raise enough money, I will also use some of it to help with the costs of relocating my son and replacing any belongings of his if his mother refuses to let him take them with him (clothing, winter coat, boots, school supplies, etc…). If I happen to be fortunate enough to raise enough money here to pay for everything, then I will be keeping track of the people who donated and will return excess funds that are not needed.
Thank you in advance to everyone who donates and makes this possible for me.
Solidarity forever.
-shugE Mississippi (AKA Christopher Allison)
Organizer
Christopher Allison
Organizer
St. Paul, MN
Begin your fundraising journey
