“From Shadows to Strength: How a Daughter’s Courage Confronted the Legacy of Abuse in Her Family”
I realized that our father had stopped taking care of the kids- Cameron, who was 14 by then, was bearing the brunt of the burden- cooking, taking care of Quinten and himself- everything from bathing, to diapering. Our father was also physically and emotionally abusing Cameron. After coming to this realization, I did one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, up until that point-On December 17, 2012, I turned my father in for child abuse .
A worker came out to the boys’ schools, and interviewed Cameron. He told her he was being left alone to take care of Quinten all day long, that his father was abusing him and that there was hardly any food in the house. This worker promised them, and promised me she would be going to their home to do a home study. 3 weeks I waited. 3 weeks I called Cameron’s cell to find out if she’d been by. She never showed up. Cameron told me that every day, he’d hold Quinten and say “Just be patient Bubby- Sissy is sending someone to save us.” But no one ever came.
I struggled so hard with wanting to just drive down and get them- since this social worker had obviously decided that Christmas shopping or something was more important than getting my brothers out of this hell hole- but every time I called DHS, they told me to just be patient, that someone would be out soon, and if that I took the boys, I would be charged with kidnapping. Since I live out of state, it would be considered felony kidnapping, and I’d never see the kids again- they’d go right back to our father.
