Hello! My name is Gaby Edouard. It is important to me that you hear my story and why I started, Free To Dream. The Guardian ad Litem (GAL) had a huge impact on my life. I hope my story inspires and encourages you to keep this organization alive and help me pay it forward to children and families in need by donating to my Non-Profit, Free to Dream.

After my mother passed away while we were living in Haiti, I came to the United States to live with my dad. I was very young and money wise times were tough. We moved from place to place to find shelter and food. It reached a point where my dad didn’t want to see his kid suffer, so he sent me to live with my auntie in Florida.

While I was living with my auntie, I got into some trouble with the law. There are some things kids do that can affect their future, but we don’t think about it before we act.

My auntie decided to kick me out of her house because she already had her kids to take care of and thought she didn’t have the ability to also take care of me. During that time, I was placed in the foster care system. The Guardian ad Litem program assigned, Leslie Diver, to be my Guardian ad Litem. I have been very fortunate to have her in my life.

Leslie started to visit me while I was in jail. She was the only one who visited me. After 4 months in jail, my trial took place. Leslie’s GAL lawyer, Kristen Larson, did an excellent job at my trial. I think she worked harder than my own lawyer to have my charge pled down to a juvenile misdemeanor, so it would be sealed and allow me the chance to get full citizenship.

After the trial, the county jail released me. However, releasing me was a mistake. They should have placed me in a group home, but they said ‘time served’ and let me go. As soon as they realized their mistake, the police were looking for me again.

I never wanted to live in a shelter or go into foster care, especially since I had been living on my own and taking care of myself. I certainly didn’t want to obey someone else’s rules. I was also uncomfortable when my peers knew I was living in a group home. I was 17 years old and wanted to go back to my friends and my old neighborhood. I ended up hiding out for awhile. Leslie came by and left a note at my auntie’s house asking me to call her. I decided to call her, and she convinced me to come back in. She explained the benefits I would receive once I turned 18 years old, such as free college, financial help and career guidance. She taught me about making good decisions at that point. I was able to see someone care about me for the first time in a long time. Before I met her, it felt like I had nothing to lose because I was on the street. Leslie looked out for me, supported me and motivated me.

I was placed in a group home in Ocala. I was 5 hours away from my neighborhood and friends, and it felt like I was in the middle of nowhere. The Genesis House was not a great place. I was the oldest kid there, so I felt like the other kids were looking up to me. Leslie would call me, and she would drive up monthly to visit me. When she visited, we would sit in her VW Bug, listen to music and play with her iPhone. It helped the boring weekend go faster. We would walk to get something to eat. It was not that exciting, but it was a real good feeling to hang out with someone who knew me and about my life before the group home.

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Without ever meeting my GAL, I think I would have done what I had to do to survive. I do not believe I would have received a college education, benefits and now making money on my own.

My GAL story ends differently than most of them. Right before my 20th birthday, Leslie became my mom. We did not know that an adult adoption was possible until Leslie’s Guardian ad Litem Supervisor, Liz Smiley, told her about it. The GAL lawyers guided us all the way through the process. Miss Liz was there in court with us on adoption day and when I got there I was surprised to see the same juvenile judge (who had once sentenced me) performing the adoption ceremony.

I want to return to Haiti in the future and be involved in politics. I would like to be the President of Haiti, so I can make a change. I want to open doors for young Haitians, so they can discover their potential. I want to rebuild Haiti, so they can be proud of their beautiful island country again.

Thanks to the Guardian ad Litem (GAL) program, kids like me with problems have someone to represent their best interest in court. GAL’s can give guidance, be motivators and be a consistent person in a child’s life. GAL’s can be life changers! My favorite quote by Jean-Jaques Rousseau states…”All men are born good…it’s what surrounds us that makes us bad”…my GAL surrounded me with good…and now I want to give ‘good’ to others.

Thank you for visiting my website and reading my story. I hope you will feel it in your heart to help me on this positive, healthy and educational mission.

Sincerely,

Gaby D. Edouard

We are planning a trip to Haiti in July. The purpose of this trip is to meet with school directors and make a plan of nutritious meals and physical fitness activities for the school year.