Tiffany L.
3/5
Lived here with all 6 of my children for 29 months starting in Nov 2018 in the shelter and then leased their apartment for the rest of the time. I had a confidential restraining order and 100 percent legal and physical custody of all my children for this time, the stand program taught me this process and their goal is dv education, support and healing, self care, and therapy services. They have a huge file on me since I followed the program well, with required daily, weekly and monthly room and apt checks, I wouldn't have been able to live there had there been an issue for 29 mo. The stand dv program has some good points and areas they need to review. I planned on getting my MFT license to help others including offering therapy to stand community needs. I am grateful for the government funded program and what I learned there and the charity provided. Out of the hundreds of people that went to the stand program for support, I was the only one who resided there who had a tire popped, vehicle keyed, and door broken and entered to where apt door wouldn't lock. They did a great job repairing the door the following week or so. This wasn't isolated to stand because I'd had doors and vehicles vandalized in previous residences before I left to stand. I recommend stand educate on stalkers in addition to abuse. My lease wasn't renewed by STAND and should have been especially during the pandemic but they and my lawyer referred me to a housing first program and apt which was awesome and included support. When I had a verbal approved lease, 5 days after I had been in hotel with my children temporarily, the police were at my hotel when I came home from work and a scheduled meeting with my tax preparer, with food for my children. I've never been so disrespected in my life the way they spoke to me. There is no curfew for an adult woman ever. There is no age requirement for having children stay home alone in California. My teenage son is allowed to walk from the parking lot to Boston Market to get food for lunch. My children had continental breakfast, lunch plenty to drink and we're safe while I taught college. I told them I was in the stand program. They walked my children's father to my hotel room anyway and tried to force me to surrender my children to him. He'd only seen them once a week for 29 mo and didn't call looking for us when we left. I refused. His lawyer filed ex parte and lied and now they've been living with their Dad the last two years and I'm still suffering dv. He constantly threatens to call the police, lawyer on me and an unknown person filed a cps lying I was bipolar, off meds and living in squalor. The social worker approved my home and had to be buzzed in at the confidential location. The legal papers have my confidential stand address instead of the mailing address and I don't know how long their father knew the physical address. Once off stand surveillance address, 5 days police were called, an ex parte filed and by mid June, a month after not living at the stand program apartment my children were taken away from me for no reason and given to their father. The apt ghosted me and I've had to deal with persons vandalising coworkers vehicles who've helped me and have been fired from 4 careers unjustly once ready to lease an apartment. I'm a registered respiratory therapist, an excellent mother and incredibly resilient, smart and responsible. MDUSD has the confidential restraining order on file I had agreed to to be amicable and supportive with anger management classes for their father. I took all my children to College Park Highschool, Hidden Valley elementary and the Martinez preschool. Homeschool during the pandemic. While teaching college full-time. Took them to therapy, tutoring, library time and had an active mom life with park days, hiking, and activities. It didn't have to be this way but we have the freedom of speech and I'm sharing what's happened to a liberal Caucasian blonde young looking Jew, tree hugging, mama of 6. I want my life with my babies too.
