A Parent's Letter
My name is Stephanie Moreno, and I am the mother of two children, my 14 year old daughter Diamond, and my handsome son, Rommell, 6 [years old]. On April 7th, 2015 my world was turned upside down when an emergency response social worker asked me to come to the DCFS [office] for a meeting. I came to the meeting, and my children were detained. At that moment I lost control since, I felt deceived and tricked into coming to the office. I was kicking doors, acting irate and didn’t care who was in my way. I was determined to get my kids back. There was a parent partner in the lobby by the name of Dennis. He helped me calm down, and told me that if I kept acting the way, I would end up in jail, and make matters worse. I connected with the PiPs and they were always there to support and encourage me. I started participating in their monthly support groups and parent orientations. The more I attended their support group, the more the process helped. Even when I was just having a bad day, I would go up there and kick it at the DCFS office in the lobby because I knew the PiPs were there, and [PiPs] Dennis and Precilla always had a way with bringing light to my situation. On January 14, 2016, I completed a six-month drug and alcohol program at Tarzana Treatment Center and by January 27, 20I6; I had been accepted into a transitional living program, where I could live with my children.
On February 22, 2016, my children were placed back in my care. I am still living at the transitional living center and continue to work on my sobriety every day. God willing, I will continue to remain clean; my case will be closed on July 5, 2016. I thank Dennis and Precilla all the time, for their support and encouragement, and also for teaching me how to maintain my “cool” when things didn’t go my way. To any parent with an open case, who is reading this, I strongly suggest getting in contact with Parents in Partnership. They are here for us and they have been through everything that we might be going through at the moment…
Sincerely,
Stephanie Moreno
Mark's Story
My name is Mark, and I am a recovering addict. I’m 54 years old and I used drugs for 35 years. I now have 8 years clean. I started out using drugs when I was 12 years old when I smoked my first joint. At the age of 16, I tried heroin. I used drugs to get away from reality. I couldn’t handle being just me. I have been married 4 times and my last marriage was for 10 years.
On July 30, 2006, DCFS and the police raided my house. They ransacked my home and found all the drugs and paraphernalia I had. DCFS took my kids into custody. On the way to jail I had chest pains and they took me to the hospital and they let me go. They didn’t arrest me at that time. I went back to the house and my kids were gone. I didn’t know what to do.
On August 13, 2006, my wife passed away from congestive heart failure. When she died it was probably one of the worst things that had ever happened to me and I decided I didn’t want to live anymore. So I tried several different times to commit suicide. I overdosed on heroin twice. I took a handful of sleeping pills. When I couldn’t kill myself I decided that I needed to change what I was doing and where I lived. So I went back to Riverside where I was born and raised. I ran into some old friends and picked up some drugs and started selling drugs and using drugs again. One day I went to downtown Riverside to sell a large quantity of drugs. I walked right into the middle of a neighborhood sweep. Police Officers took me into custody, put me in jail. They charged me with possession with the intent to distribute, manufacturing of controlled substances and several other felonies. I was in county jail for about 10 months and went to Warm Springs Rehab for 90 days.
Afterward I went back to Riverside. I came up from Riverside to the Antelope Valley and showed up to court for the final adoption hearing. The judge asked who I was and when my attorney said dad, the judge said we have to stop and start all over. The judge gave me reunification services. I would make phone calls from Riverside to the social worker and she’d put me on hold and would three-way me with my kids and listen to my conversations. We went back to court and the judge ordered my kids to be brought back from Washington to the Antelope Valley. They told me I could see my kids for three hours a week. I would ride my motorcycle from Riverside to the AV once a week to see my kids for three hours. I wanted to get my kids back.
After 6 months the social worker and the judge told me if I could find a place in the Antelope Valley to take my kids, I could have them back. At the time a friend of mine had an apartment and said we could stay with him. He live scanned and passed. We moved in with him, my kids had a bedroom all to themselves and I slept on a mat by the back door. Six months later we went back to court and the judge closed my case. I had no idea what I was doing and I’m pretty much still lost some time. But I stayed clean through all of this. Now I am raising my two youngest kids, Eric, who is 16 and Krystal who is 15 by myself. It can be challenging at times but I love my kids and it is something I promised my wife I would do before she died. I have been with the Parents in Partnership program for almost 5 years now.
If you are reading this I have been where you are! Don’t give up!
"As one person I cannot change the world, but I can change the world of one person."
Jennifer's Story
Continued
I stayed clean for six months and held a job but still kept in contact with my drug dealer and I began to use meth again. My eldest daughter told the school counselor that I had begun to use drugs again. That is when DCFS first entered into my life.
The social worker told me that she needed me to get tested for drugs. I went to take the test knowing that I was not going to pass. The following day I was at home getting high with some friends when I received a call from the social worker informing me not to attempt to pick up my children from school because they were being detained by DCFS.
I was told I needed to stop using drugs and get into a program. I was able to stay clean for months, but soon got back into drugs. I knew that I had to get myself into a program and get my daughters back. I called different places trying to get into a program, and I was able to secure a spot in one place. When the withdrawals began, I decided to leave. I immediately went to a house where I knew that I could get high. That day I was arrested and was sent to jail for three months.
When I got out not much changed, I continued to use drugs. I was convinced to get myself into a program again. Somehow I stuck it through the program. It was in this program that I learned how to be a mother. While in the program, I was reunited with my daughters. It took some time, but my relationship with them grew strong. After completing the program, I began to volunteer and would attend monthly meetings. I eventually was interviewed, and I now work for the Parents in Partnership Program.
One day my eldest daughter sat me down and told me she needed to tell me something. I had to promise that I was not going to relapse. She said that while I was struggling with my drug use, and they were in the custody of my mom, she was raped by my stepfather and that he molested my two younger daughters. She attempted to tell my mother, but she was told not to tell anybody because he was the provider.
I was enraged at my mother. She did nothing when it happened to me, and she didn't do anything to protect her granddaughters. I called the cops, and my stepfather was arrested. My family immediately turned their backs on me and harassed me about what I had done. They told me, I was ungrateful for what they had done for me while I was trying to get clean. The harassment from my family would not stop so I had to move far, so I moved to Riverside. We are all alone since my family members want nothing to do with me or my daughters. Even my grandma turned her back on me. But that’s ok, because my daughters are safe now.