Dear Family & Friends,

Right now our household (as well as the other victims in another household) are all reeling from what happened Monday night.

The morning of January 17th I received news that our son D* had been violently attacked by his father the night before. I spent several hours getting in contact with the school or D to talk with him directly. After a few hours, D's school called to share that his friend's mom had him safe and in her care on the other side of the mountains.

When I arrived, the blood from my exes fist was still on the door (after punching and cracking a double-paned window.) After talking with the amazing woman who protected my son, I got a chance to hear what happened from D himself. D described a situation that was exactly like my own experience when his father was my trafficker/"boyfriend."

We had to stay overnight on the other side of the mountains to retrieve what we could from his father's house the next day. Thankfully my ex was in police custody, but when my friend and I entered the home, I entered a nightmare. I finally understood why I was never allowed to come into the home.

What we found was a home in such an extreme condition that it was unsafe for animals or humans of any age. We found trash, animal feces, filth, 5 inches of murky standing water in the bathtub, and so much more. D had no bed, bedding, clean clothing, toiletries, and there was feces in his room. Because he couldn't always access the washer, many of his clothes were soiled beyond salvage. I was instantly heartbroken, and I remember just standing in his room in frozen disbelief.

I had no idea that D was living in uninhabitable conditions, had been without food on numerous occasions, or had been without power for any amount of time - LET ALONE FOUR DAYS! The neglect I became aware of broke my heart because he is such an amazing kid.

Right now, our family is in a state of shock about everything that had been going on, as well as the event on Monday. Normally I wouldn't ask for the community's support, but right now there are so many things that are coming at us. So far we have received a bunch of support, and people have asked how they can help.

I also wanted to create a way that I could update everyone who has offered support to get updates in a little more of a timely fashion. Below are some things that would be really helpful to our family:

• People to remind us that we are loved, matter, and are not alone
• Click here to help decorate D's room and give him a space to retreat to, chill, breathe, heal, study, sleep, and feel safe
• Donate (the rewards section gives you some options)
• If you have advice about how to navigate this situation - it would be helpful to have some "things to expect"

We are working on getting D settled into our house, enrolled in school, and getting counseling set up for our family. There are a lot of really big and hard things coming our way including court, interviews, and other things directly related to the case. Any support you can provide helps our family know we aren't alone during such a hard time.

Thank you for reading/listening,

Kyra & Family