The following is the timeline of events...

The following is the timeline of events that led up to my depression, incarceration, unemployment, and the involvement of my children being taken into the care of child protection services. I would like to say before January 2009 I was doing everything a husband and father was supposed to be doing which was holding a job and providing a nice home for my family. My wife abandons my children and myself without a word to live with another man. She later gave the boys up to me in front of the judge in Spotsylvania County. This all caused me to lose my job, house, all of my personal belongings, two vans, driver license w/ a CDL, three children and my freedom. When jail was done with me I was five states away from home and homeless walking the streets of Fredericksburg. Since my release from jail I have gone to dui court every month. I have completed the ASAP classes, parenting classes, attended AA meetings every week, completed three months of GED classes at James Monroe High School and now registered to take the test. I have done all of this walking as I have looked for employment. I am now staying at the Thurman Brisben Shelter. I have finally found employment at a concrete pumping company named Willmar. I am working very hard to overcome what has happened to my children and myself. I am jumping through hoops for Social Services, trying to impress them and casa. I want my boys to come home to me. This year has crushed me. I miss my children so much I can not express it enough. My children being returned to me is the only thing that can complete me.

Richard Holloway

Timeline of Events

January 22nd 2009

I held a job at Sunbelt Rentals for almost three years. I was earning 16.50hr with 45 to 55 hours every week. I was earning 40.000 to 44.000 a year. I was providing my family with vision, medical, dental, life insurance, and a very nice home in a very nice neighborhood at 6030 Battlefield Green Drive, Fredericksburg. Holly decides she didn’t want to be a mom or a wife anymore and decided the best thing for her to do was abandon the boys and myself to live with another man. From this point forward I fell into depression and I was extremely distraught. I didn’t eat for six days. I was extremely stressed knowing my job was in jeopardy since I no longer could get to work on time due to getting my boys ready for school. Missing so much time from work I couldn’t keep up with the bills. I called my boys school asking for financial help. There a woman advised me to go to a church. She suggested Salem Fields Community Church. There I met Pastor Ron. We, my boys and I started attending services there every Sunday. There I found financial and emotional support. Meanwhile I continued to keep in contact with Peggy Mahoney, the Guidance counselor at my boys school Battlefield Elementary.

Five weeks later

I found her and she came back home and she cried because I took her away from her boyfriend. She stayed for fourteen hours and left us again. Asking me to drive her back to her boyfriends house or she would walk. I did drive her because she refused to stay with me and the boys.

February 26th 2009

I spent six days in Snowden suffering from depression. The events prior to this led me to my depression and stress which later led me to my termination from work This is also what led me to be put on all four of the medications that led to my arrest and incarceration. While in Snowden, Holly stayed at the house with the boys. When I was released from Snowden Pastor Ron picked me up to drive me home. He stopped at Long Johns Silvers and bought my family lunch. I ordered my wife’s favorite food from there. After arriving, we begin to eat lunch. In the middle of lunch my wife asks me for a ride to her boyfriend’s house. She asks me this in front of my kids and Pastor Ron. Pastor Ron offered to drive her. I hadn’t been home for twenty minutes. She was so ready to leave she did not want to finish her lunch. She packed it up and took it with her. She had left us again this time in front of the man from church. After I came back from Snowden my oldest son Raymond let me know that his mother said to him that she wanted a divorce so she could marry the other man that she had been living with for only about six weeks.

March 18th 2009

Holly gave the boys up to me in front of the judge in Spotsylvania County Court, telling the judge they were better off with me. He agreed and awarded me custody of my boys. Telling her to pay me 460.00 a month for support. First payment was be paid by May 1st.

April 1st 2009

April 1st I had lost the house on 6030 Battlefield Green Drive and moved into the apartment on Charles Street.. April 6th, 7th, 8th I had missed three days from work due to getting my boys enrolled in school. April 8th I was arrested the first time for dui, not from alcohol but from my depression medication. April 13th I was fired from work due to the family problems, not able to get to work on time and poor performance. The middle of April she asked if she could come back. I said yes. I caught her trying to sneak around to see the other man and I had realized my suspicions were true. Her coming back was only a trick to get out of paying child support. The first payment was due on the 1st of May and she wasn’t going to have the money because she wasn’t working. When I found her sneaking around to see the other man I made her leave. She had no problem with leaving in fact this was her fourth time walking out on my boys since January 22nd. She was out in less than fifteen minutes. About four days later on April 27th I was arrested for dui for the second time in three weeks, neither was alcohol related, they were both from the medication for the depression of what I was going through. I spent three months in the jail. While in jail I fell off the top bunk and ended up with twenty stitches and a concussion. After my recovery I enrolled in the substance abuse and the GED programs at the jail. I was released before I could complete them. Meanwhile I wrote my boys eleven letters. Judge Peterson from the JDR court ordered Social Services to deliver my letters to my boys and they never did that. So I never once had any communication with my boys whatsoever. They could have been thinking I didn’t want to speak to them. I feel like that was wrong. My boys needed to here from their dad that he loves them.

July 23rd 2009

I was released from jail. Without a home, job, family, van, all of my personal belongings being clothes, tools, furniture or any money. My landlord picked me up and took me to a motel where I stayed the night. The next day I walked to Social Services to make arrangements to see my boys, Then Kristen Flannery drew up a service plan for me.

Next I check myself into ASAP, the dui probation ordered by Judge Stephens from General District Court from there I went to RACSB. My landlord Kraig Sullivan and his girlfriend Jennifer Ford picked me up again took me off the street and gave me a place to stay. I am still staying with Kraig. I have enrolled in the GED program at the James Monroe High School. I am done with the GED classes and I am registered to take the test Saturday December 5th I have completed the ASAP classes this morning and have completed the parenting classes. Recently I have tried to reconcile with my wife to come back to me so we could work together so we could bring our boys home. She isn’t interested. She made it clear she would not be faithful.

November 1st 2009

I have had no luck finding work so I had made up a flyer about myself to try to find some yard work in the neighborhood. November 5th it landed me a job with Willmar a concrete pumping company. From here all I can do is move forward. I am doing everything I possibly can to impress Social Services and CASA so hopefully Judge Peterson will order Social Services to return my boys to me. I miss them and love them so much I can’t express it enough. I am on a mission and I am asking God to ride along so I won’t be alone.

November 24th, 2009

I have checked in to the Thurman Brisben Center. This is a homeless shelter and they are allowing me to save some money so I can get a place. They are welcoming my boys if I can get the court to have them returned to me.

December 5th, 2009

It is Saturday. I went to the Germanna Community College and took the GED test that I had studied so hard for. Monday I found out I had passed.

December 31st, 2009

Cornerstone Baptist Church came to the Thurman Brisben Shelter to celebrate the New Year with the people there. I met Chris Brown that night that is from the church. I asked him were there church was located, he told me off of Highway 17 and he invited me to the Sunday service. I enjoyed the service. I feel welcome there. I think it is the right church for my boys and me. I feel it is really important for all four of us to be surrounded by good people.

January 21st, 2010

Court was held today in the Juvenile & Domestic Relations 701 Princess Anne Street Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401. Social Services offered me a deal to come back in sixty days and review my personal situation or come back in five months. I took the sixty days. I have worked so hard to try to impress everyone from Social Services to Judge Peterson by completing all of the programs and attaining my GED. I felt like all of my efforts were overlooked.

March 18th 2010

Court was held today and it has been sixty days. The court decided to keep the case as it is and come back in ninety days. Holly, her sister and one of her boyfriends was there. I am still at Thurman Brisben Center.

May 14th 2010

I have left the Thurman Brisben Center to move into my apartment. The shelter gave me some donations. A microwave, toaster, tv , air mattress and some sheets and a blanket. After moving in I bought some furniture from the guys at my job, being Mike Bringer and Marty Mullins. I now have bunk beds, a single bed, four dressers and a wardrobe closet, refrigerator and a nice wooden cart. Chris Brown from Cornerstone Baptist Church gave me another tv, microwave cart. I have had to clean this place myself. I have put in smoke alarms..

May 25th 2010

I have found out from my family counselor that Social Services have changed their goal to keeping my boys forever and asking the judge to terminate my parental rights. They are keeping Brad and Darrell but they are bringing Ray home to me in the middle of August. On Ray’s birthday to be exact. 

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