ATJ Update

Finding family for those who lost theirs

How far would you go to save someone else's daughter?

It's not your problem, but you love your little 8-year-old niece, and her mother just sold her own daughter to a couple in Florida.

Yes, you read that right.

It's an awful, true story that should repulse any moral person. But disgust alone isn't going to keep that little girl with the family members who still care about her.

Saving her requires action.

That's why we created the Justice for All Campaign, to fund the legal aid organizations dedicated to serving Texas' children and the millions of families who can't afford a lawyer, yet desperately need one.

As attorneys, we know better than most how thorny and complicated child custody can be, even when the “right” outcome seems obvious.

So when Monique came to legal aid and told them the story of her endangered niece, the lawyers didn't just listen — they leapt to action.

They arranged a child custody hearing. When the girl's mother refused to answer any questions about selling her daughter for money, the judge granted a temporary custody order. Since then, the mother has disappeared. The girl's father is still in jail.

But Monique and her husband are fighting for full custody: a girl abandoned by her family found a new mother to love her. And legal aid will be there to make sure it happens.

Because that's the thing, isn't it?

We're all in this together. We are all sons and daughters of Texas.

Join the ATJ community of supporters by making a donation today.

www.texasatj.org

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Views and opinions expressed in eNews are those of their authors and not necessarily those of the Texas Young Lawyers Association or the State Bar of Texas.