Desperately in need of help and nowhere to turn.. My 2 year history started back in November of 2009. I had an active and successful consumer products business based on products of my concept. It was so successful in fact that it failed miserably. When selling to retailers they take over 120 days to pay and you must add the shipment time from the factory to the retailer which is sometimes 45 days. Lack of financing caused us to close doors. That’s where it stated. I was falling through cracks in the system long before these cracks were identified by the media. Owning a home at the time, meant were not eligible for county assistance, being my own business owner, I was not eligible for unemployment benefits. If I sound intelligent and what should be upper middle class, I am. This is also what pains me. But this is also my commitment to not giving up and my ability to pay it forward if I can receive help. Allow me to continue; my wife decided because I was not keeping us in a lifestyle she was accustomed to for 15 years, she would leave. It literally came out of the blue as we never fought, and I truly didn’t know there were any problems. There was one problem with her plan. She did not have the means, job experience, or education to get high level employment. We had been evicted from our home 2 months prior and were living in two motel rooms between us and our 4 children. I was working consulting projects during this time, just enough to pay the motel rent and bills. She began working at AAA as a customer service. She tried to live with her mom but with 4 kids not even her family would take her. I have no surviving family except my father whom I found out molested one of my daughters a couple of years ago. My daughter was discussing it with her therapist and it was subsequently reported. He is on the run; in Mexico I suspect. I had met what was my soul mate shortly after that, with her own set of problems. She was separated from her ex-boyfriend that tried to throw her in jail, and cost her their son being taken away. He subsequently went down for investor fraud and elderly abuse including getting away with over 60k of my money supposedly representing my “part” of the purchase order financing so investors would ‘match’ me dollar for dollar. Never saw a dime. So now she was with me as well. I just couldn’t let her be on her own as well, and she really was and still is my support. Our 17 year old daughter at the time was spoiled and was trying to find a way out, and a way into a home where her lies would continue, and her drug habit as well. One of her friends for her school was in foster care and quickly taught my daughter the systems in’s and outs. Next thing I know my children were not at school when they were supposed to be picked up, and I was receiving a call from the police department saying they had them there. I flew down there.. I was informed that my 17 year old made a claim I had “struck” her a year or so prior and she felt scared of me. That’s all it took, I was in the hands of CPS, and they didn’t get their hooks out of me until a couple of months ago. For the record.. I DID STRIKE MY CHILD! I SLAPPED HER AND PULLED HER OUT OF MY CAR I caught her driving her girlfriends around in at 2am. She had no license, and she was high on E, Zanex, alcohol, and marijuana. I was ordered to anger management classes, parenting classes and counseling. My now ex-wife sees how easy it is, and the social worker was on her side completely. Seems to be all she has to do is tell them she is scared of me and they will get her an apartment quickly with no questions asked, no trial, no evidence. One morning I finally have the funds to get us into a house, and she had a meeting at CPS with the kids. Since she had to be a work I offered to have her meet me at the bank for the lease agreement, and I would take the kids to school for her. One more tardy and she would lose her job. I waited diligently at the bank. She never came. 30 minutes of waiting and I called her cell phone. No answer. I called my kids, and there was no answer. All phones were off. She had my rental car, my kids, and was nowhere to be found. I get a call from the motel where we were staying asking for me to grant her access to the rooms. I denied it, and went to find her. She wasn’t there. I denied access until I knew what was going on and what had happened. I received a call from my son the next morning saying he was scared, mom was nuts, and please help them. He told me which motel they were at.. when I reached the location I had knocked on her door then walked down to the parking lot for the cops to arrive. They did. They helped me get my car back, and served me with a restraining order. Less than 3 hours later I get a call from my ex saying she doesn’t know what to do.. Now CPS is involved, they told her to go to a motel and she is on a waiting list for an apt. I had to use the move money to pay for her room almost 2000 until she got her apartment. She got all of the kids belongings and her own for I knew she wasn’t taking my kids out of state. My fiancée and I moved in a cheap motel as well, and I continued to work on some projects, some paid; some sweat equity. 4 months later in the middle of the CPS case I get a call from my son telling me that the Sheriff’s were there to kick them out. I learned then that CPS will assist you in obtaining an apartment, not paying your rent monthly for you. She told me she couldn’t say anything or I would take the kids away from her. I believe all children should be with their mom unless the mother is unfit. I feel my ex deserved to go a little crazy after all she had been through, and still forgive her to this day. My fiancée and I agreed to move out of our new rental home and put her and the kids there. We stayed there often to watch the kids while she was out on dates. I did not try to take my children back, and wouldn’t. I played the bad guy and went along with whatever they wanted. Additionally I support (when I can) my 80 year old father is blind, and my surrogate mother has MS. I have pitched in with labor and house cleaning as this is all I have been able to afford. I have applied for jobs everywhere, and still continue to take consulting work when available. We lost everything material when we quit paying storage. Fast forward to now…. That house they were in was foreclosed on and the owner ran away with our security deposit. Seeking cheaper housing immediately, I found a place with a guest house and got into it. However, I have not been paid for over 3 months in work completed, our SCE is shut off, and we are a month behind on rent. My landlord has been patient, but he cannot continue this way. If I get him his rent this week he will hold off eviction and give me time to catch up. SCE however needs to be paid immediately. I do not ever ask for help, and I am fully capable to pay it back, pay it forward and you can pay these things directly. This should help with credibility. I never panic, and KNOW I am blessed with all the problems I have and had.. I still have my kids, and we now have access to my stepson every weekend and are working on getting him back. All I need is a hand to get back up. Then literally I am off and running. My biggest fear is puting my children through motels again, or worse. We have no car and life has been cheaper without one. I have some upcoming opportunities to relaunch my products, and work in consulting, so I will not need the help again. Those of you that do help I am willing to pay it forward and can show you the means. I guess I could have tried to be more pathetic but honestly felt the truth was good enough. I just really need a break and have nowhere else to turn. I have always been the one everyone runs to and have helped people to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. These people are nowhere to be found. Whatever you can donate would help. We are looking for at least $5500.00 immediately. God Bless you and thank you for reading this. Please donate via paypal to: destitutefamily1667@gmail.com