Mariajose

Something you don't know about me: I have a 17-year-old daughter. She was taken from me when she was 8. Not for abuse. Not for neglect. But because I couldn't move back to North Carolina. I raised my daughter alone. Her father wasn't in her life - he was serving probation in Florida while we lived in North Carolina. I had full custody. I had an opportunity to make more money and get off government assistance by moving to Colorado. I took it. A couple of months later he moved from Florida to North Carolina. A year later, the judge sent my daughter to live with him. And two years after that, he managed to cut off all direct contact I had with her. For years, I tried to find another way to get my daughter back. But without contact, the only option was to talk about what had happened. I didn't have a lot of reach, but the little I had turned into finding others going through similar situations with the same judge in Mecklenburg County, NC. That's when I decided to create The Fiorella Hidalgo Foundation. I worked quietly for years--sharing what I'd learned, helping others navigate the system the best way I knew how. Then last year, my daughter reached out desperate for help. I tried every legal route, only to discover the corruption has grown worse than I knew. The stories I'd heard were just the tip of the iceberg - it's not one judge, it's several. We started documenting cases and created a Change dot org petition (link in comments). It now has over 1,600 signatures and keeps growing organically with zero promotion. That means many others are going through this. They probably think they're the only ones. They probably think they're crazy—there's no way the system meant to protect them is doing the opposite. I know, because I thought all of that too. I need your help. This is a small, community-based non-profit mostly run by volunteers—it's the only way to keep our advocacy truthful. This isn't one or two cases, and it's not just happening in North Carolina but nationwide. I hate asking for help. I've spent years funding this myself. But the deeper I get into this fight, the harder that becomes while children all over the nation keep getting harmed. I'm looking for volunteers—research, website building, responding to victims, anything you can offer. But even if you can't do that, following and sharing the foundation's social media helps (TikTok, Instagram, Facebook). That engagement could monetize through ads and keep this going. If you can help, reach out. If you can share, please do. Someone out there needs to know they're not alone.

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