I don't know what to do.

[Lunchbox]

My child's mother has been sick both physically and mentally for nearly two years. It was so bad she asked me to stop working and stay home to take care of her and our child. I have been my daughter's only real caregiver for the entirety of her life. her mother and I were eaking by on her welfare for quite some time and things just got worse and worse.  She would beg me to stay home and take car of her whenever I would mention going to look for work. Our lives had deteriorated into complete crap and the only thing I had to look forward to were her week long hospital stays so I could get a moment's rest. She has been in and out of the psyche ward for suicide attempts and a prescription narcotics dependency issue.

After a year and a half of not being able to get any kind of day care through the state(we weren't married and I was not on her case even though we lived together. I have a felony record, one time offense that has always haunted me.) and not being able to get her family or my mother to help us out, she finally started talking to her parents behind my back about gettting some help. They have always taken a disliking to me becuase I was 30 and she was 20 when we met so they told her if she left me and took our child they would get her help and a lawyer and new insurance so her medical issues would be cleared up.

She went into the psyche ward and was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, OCD, and bi polar with severe mood swings. She was deemed a suicide risk. When she was in there she conspired with her family to leave me once she got out and she called me and dumped me via a social worker intermediate. She told me she was leaving so she could work on being independent and that it was a good thing for both of us. I knew better. She told me she was going to come back to me once things were better, I knew better.

She got out, took my daughter to her parents house, and has not spoken to me since she left. I have been refused access to my daughter for about two months now. We were never married but my name is on the birth certificate and on the paternat registry and my daughter has my last name. In the mean time the child's mother has been in and out of the psyche ward and given electroconvulsive therapy treaments to quelch her mental issues. She has been on suicide watch while in there for threatening to kill herself. Now that she is out she is the only person with our child for upwards of 10 hours a day while her parents are at work. She is still unable to take care of herself let alone our daughter, yet her family thinks it's okay to leave them alone. I have been desperately looking for work since we split ways but it has been hard to find anything since the economy is bad and I have a felony record. My record is 8 years old with nothing on it since then. I am only allowed to speak to my daughter via phone for a couple of minutes twice a week. I have been threatened with a restraining order if I call more than that. I am being threatened by the CSEA to have my license removed since I am two motnhs behind on my payments, a total of 450.00 in all. I have no money for an attorney. I am losing my mind here. I need to see my daughter. What should I do? I am terrified I will never see her again or I will only be able to see her for a few hours a week in the supervision of someone while I pay outrageous amounts for a kid I never spend time with. I will never be able to get ahead in my own life as I will be paying to allow her to sit on her ass at home and do nothing. What should I do?

When I say I have no money I mean I am eating bread and baloney. I really have NO MONEY right now. Please help.

Brian

[Lunchbox]

bump for an answer

[Kitty C.]

I suggest you post this also on the Father's forum.........there is a whole lot more traffic there.......