Imagine the state child protective service coming into your home to take your grandchildren while they are doing homework. That is exactly what Valencia Polk described happened to her family in Texas decades ago.

“We’re going to take the children. I cried, of course. They’re my kids. Why are you going to take the kids?” Valencia Polk said on the Sixto Cancel Think of Us PBS News Hour.

“We don’t think you can handle it,” and Texas took six children from her home.

“When they took them, they were sitting on the floor doing their homework. And they came and got them, screaming and crying: ‘Please, please, help me, help me, help me.’….And then I had to leave. I said, ‘I have got to go back in the house,’ because I just felt I was going to fall on the ground,” Valencia Parker told PBS.

Sixto’s story is so much like millions of other families that have been traumatized by states across the country and around the world. To hear this story and ideas about what needs to change, listen to to the Think of US,PBS News Hour.

“This is a story that we see over and over and over. And all the time, we see these small barriers as, like, a deposit for an apartment or the need for more food being the barrier that actually blocks families from staying together. Or these technicalities that a family might need to be licensed to take care of their children, their relatives,” Sixto goes on to share ideas about how funding is shifting to keep families intact, and what needs to be done to prevent other children and their families from suffering the same traumatic experiences.

Minding Hearts is building advocacy and peer support groups in each state.  The groups are created to raise awareness, educate, and advocate for those that might not otherwise be heard. We are here for encouragement, education, and support. We cannot give legal advice, but we can try and direct you in the right direction with your case. Links to legal services are listed with their states. Please share and let’s grow our groups. We are here to support families and develop resources that maintain family integrity. We look forward to your support. If you would rather become active by donating, then visit the donation page.