Provide relief for a disabled, Cambodian mother

We are reaching out to you with an urgent ask. We are in dire need of community support to help a disabled Cambodian mother keep custody of her young daughter. January 30th is her final chance to have a shot at winning her case as she applied for a continuance and was denied. We have changed names to protect the identity and safety of the mother and her daughter in the story below. We need your help raising money that covers the costs of her legal fees including but not limited to, subpoenas, court fees, transcripts, in-language translators, and supervised visit fees.

‘Maly’ is an immigrant mother who has been in a custody battle for the past 5 years fighting to give childcare for ‘Dara’, her 8-year-old daughter. Maly had gone through pregnancy and raised Dara alone for the first three years of her childhood. She had always provided so much care and love to her daughter. After years of absence, Dara’s dad came into her life and started making false allegations against Maly. Even after an investigation from Child Protective Services and evidence proving these allegations to be false, the court sided with the dad. Maly is at risk of losing all custody of her daughter. The mom hasn't been able to see her daughter for months since she hasn't been able to pay for the supervised visit fees. There is so much pain in Maly’s story but due to the sensitivity of this case, please note some things cannot be disclosed.

“I love my daughter and all I want is to be with her. She has always been a happy and healthy girl when she was with me. I feel like I'm being punished because I don't have money for a lawyer and I am not fluent in English”

This is a five-year custody battle, in which she’s had to navigate alone for the first few years. During this custody battle, she is also facing language, cultural, and financial barriers which have significantly impacted the outcome of this case. As a community organization, we know that navigating the legal system is often challenging and impossible to understand, especially since this is a new territory for many of our refugee and immigrant communities. This often puts us at a disadvantage and we end up facing more injustice through the court system.

Please note that there was a previous GoFundMe created for this community member. This is an ongoing case with significant updates, including restarting the hearing process due to language, cultural, and financial barriers. With more attention to these barriers and wanting to provide the necessary support for this case, this community member is still in need of financial support to have a fair chance.