“Keep Areana Safe”

I am Cheryl Gomez, a disabled senior, grandmother and proposed guardian for Areana Preston. I have raised Areana the majority of her life. My daughter n law, her mother gave her to me at 8 weeks old. Areana has been through more than any 11 year old should have to endure.  My purpose for this site is to "KEEP HER SAFE", so her parents can no LONGER come and take her on a whim and disappear for a year at a time, leaving her TERRIFIED,  BROKEN with no SELF-ESTEEM or HOPE. I have exhausted my emergency savings. I'm praying for your help to pay attorney fees so she may sleep safe and sound at night knowing her mom and dad can no longer hurt her and disrupt her life.  Any amount over the requested amount will go towards her college fund and future. I am giving this to GOD. I leave you with her written letter to ATTORNEY SHAUNA ALBRIGHT. Every child deserves to be loved and protected. God Bless Cheryl Gomez     Dear Attorney Shauna Albright,    My name is Areana M. Preston. I am your client. I will be twelve on April 24th, 2015.    I want you to know what my life is like when my mom and my dad take me from my Mimi. My life is like a roller coaster. Going up and down, side to side, with out a seatbelt.    They lie to me. Mom gives me black eyes, when she’s mad at me. My mom would steal my money to buy clothes for her self. My old school in 3th grade called the social workers on my mom because of my black eyes. My mom told me to lie about my bruises or I would get beat again. My mom would tell me that I don’t belong in her family. She wouldn’t let me talk to my Mimi. I was scared of my mom. My mom hurt me so many times it felt like she broke me into pieces.    I was living with Mimi in 2012. I was happy, on the honor roll, playing sports when my dad showed up one day and took me from Mimi. He lied to me, saying that Mimi said that I could live with him. I did not know that I would not see Mimi again. I made Mimi promise me before this happened that if my mom or dad took me again to find me and go to court to get me back.    When I was in 5th grade,  my school called the Police and made a report on bruises on my legs, arms and stomach. My dad hit me with a metal belt. He was so mad at me for telling on him he stopped talking to me and wouldn’t look at me. He said I didn’t deserve to have a family.    He would send me to bed without food sometimes when he was mad at me. I was hungry most of the time at night because there wasn’t enough food for me after he ate, then his girlfriend's 2 younger girls ate.    I would get under a table in my room and put a blanket over it and pretend like I was invisible so my dad couldn’t find me. He kept a gun in the house. He would put up the posters in his bedroom after he shot them up at the gun range.    He went to the gun range when he was mad, which was a lot. I was scared he might kill me with his gun when he got mad. Shoot me up like the posters from the gun range.    I didn’t have clean clothes to wear to school a lot of time. I would have to wear dirty clothes to school. I had to hide my money I got for my birthday n holidays that Mimi, Auntie Reagan n Auntie Kim gave me because my dad would find it and use it to buy beer. My dad told me he didn’t want me anymore and was gonna put me up for adoption.    I cry a lot at night cause I’m scared dad or mom will take me from my Mimi again and hurt me again. I have nightmares that I would never see my Mimi again. I don’t want to live with them. I want to live with my Mimi. Mimi loves me and doesn’t do these things to me. They have hurt my Mimi too. I don’t want them to do these things to me or Mimi anymore. Please don’t make me go back to them. Keep me and Mimi safe.  Sincerely Areana Makayla Preston