Ruby's Rightful Home

Ruby is a delightful, silly, outgoing 7 year-old girl with precocious sophistication and a twinkle in her eye. Her smile and laughter light up the room. It is because of her that this fundraiser was born.

When her parents were together, they shared a vision of raising their child in a rural, land-based community. Although the partnership between them didn’t last, Ruby’s mom Tyriss held strong to this vision and openly continued to plan for a move out of Portland, inviting her father to relocate as well once the right community was found.

Tyriss has always been Ruby’s primary parent. She took leave from her career for the first two years of Ruby’s life to care for her and nurse her at home. Upon return to work, Tyriss continued to provide for the vast majority of Ruby’s needs; taking her to medical appointments, clothing, grooming and nurturing her unwaveringly.

When Tyriss found the community that was the right fit in White Salmon, Washington, conversations with Ruby’s father on how to make the move work for the family continued. A legal parenting plan was created prior to the move stating that her father would remain in Portland and Ruby would live primarily with her mother in White Salmon. However, when the time came for Ruby to move with her mom, Ruby’s father filed with the court to pursue full custody of Ruby and to keep her with him in Portland.

Rather than maintaining joint custody as planned and smoothly starting the next chapter of life, Tyriss now finds herself fighting for custody of her daughter. There are additional aspects of the situation that it wouldn’t be appropriate to share in a public forum. In short, Ruby dearly needs her mother’s steady presence in her life to continue to feel safe and secure in the world.  

A combination of factors make raising money critical to the fair and equal representation of each of Ruby’s parents in court. Prior to moving, Tyriss had an injury that left her unable to work for 6 months. Because she was self-employed at the time, there were no benefits to support her during the healing process. After moving to a new area and starting a counseling business a year ago, she is still recovering from the financial hardship.

Because the legal case is in Oregon and Tyriss is now a Washington resident, she doesn’t qualify for any of the free or low cost legal resources that typically would be available to people in her situation. Meanwhile, Ruby’s father earns five times her annual income and has hired the best law firm money can buy. Thankfully, Tyriss has a great lawyer who values offering accessible services. Even at those reasonable rates, fundraising is critical to keep her lawyer through the resolution of the case.

So far $2500 has been raised through generous donations from loved ones! Thankfully it is enough to cover Tyriss’s portion of the upcoming custody study. Legal fees have added up to $5000 so far, and it is estimated that an additional $5000 will be needed to complete the case in Spring of 2020.

It is with faith and humility that we whole-heartedly ask for your support. Donations of any amount are welcome, as are your prayers and visions for a positive outcome!