Let the Children Be Heard!

We have gotten a lot of messages asking how everyone can help out. So we decided to try this out.

School clothes, supplies, traveling back and forth from NOLA to Baton Rouge and attorney fees add up quickly.

On September 27th my husband was granted temporary sole custody of his cousins 4 children after a tragic accident took his life. These children have lived a life no children should have to endure. After his cousins death he was stunned to find his 22 month old soiled baby filthy laying in a dirty bed inside a deplorable hotel room with his mother smoking out of a glass pipe less than 8 feet away. 2 other children ages 12 and 6 were in another hotel where they stayed with their grandparents. The 12 year old was sleeping underneath the bed and there were needles and residue on the counters and the room was a mess. He immediately noticed the 6 year old had open wounds on her head and asked what happened. She had such a severe lice infestation that she was scratching her skin and hair out. When asking where the 10 yr old was- he was met with even more shocking news. She was living with another family in another town. They didn’t even know their full names or address. She stays with 2 different couples every few months. The kids haven’t been to school in years and ALL OF THE CHILDREN WERE FULL OF LICE! No one has ever been to a dentist and no one can tell us when the last time they ever saw a doctor was. DCF has failed these children many many times. We personally called twice for this particular incident and were turned down and told it didn’t meet the guidelines of neglect. It wasn’t until we got the police involved that someone actually got out there. STILL nothing. We were forced to hire a private attorney in order to finally get those kids out of that hotel. Because of this, we took on full financial responsibility and will not be receiving help from the state. Luckily, the kids uncle was able to come down from Connecticut and stay with us for a couple of weeks and will be helping with the kids, as well. The kids love him however, being from out of state it makes custody with the courts tricky. So, we did what’s best for the kids and that is just get them out of that situation!

Hearing stories of daily life from these 10 and 12 year old girls is absolutely heartbreaking. They have witnessed their parents and grandparents stick needles in their arms. They have been taught how to administer narcan in the event they need to bring anyone back to life. They know more about how someone acts on certain drugs than any adult I know. The psychological abuse will take along time to get over…if ever. The physical abuse..this could just go on and on.

In the 5 days these kids have been out of that hotel they have had a professional lice company do their hair, taken a hot shower, worn clean new clothes, slept in a clean bed, all have seen a doctor, registered to school, and most importantly they weren’t woken up by the knocks of a drug deal and have never felt more safe than they do right now!

This fight is not over!