Just really wanted a venue to express frustration. I'm a single 38 year old father, up until 2019 I never had any real issues with social services. Then life events caused a downward spiral that I can't seem to recover from. I was arrested for cocaine trafficking in December 2018, after exuberant legal fees and being labeled as a felon for a year and a half the state finally tested the "substance" and found it contained nothing illegal (it was creatine in my Gym bag).

During that time finding a job was almost impossible so my child support began to stack up. I worked where I could to try and survive, I lost my house, my savings, my sense of self, and my relationship with my daughter. While the state of SC will take extreme measures to enforce child support payments they do nothing to enforce visitation. My ex found out about the charge I had and would not let me see my daughter without supervision. When the charge was finally dismissed after almost two years I could finally work again. I still am not allowed to keep my daughter over night (her mother's orders), and can't afford to take my ex to court. I didn't have a driver's license because it was revoked for owing child support, so finding a job was still a challenge. I was able to get a job in Charleston SC, I had a friend that lives there and I could walk to work.

Things went fairly well, I was able to pay my child support down to around $1000 balance and start piecing my life back together. After working there for just over 6 months I tried to contact social services so I could obtain a license. After weeks of calling and emails I never got a response or was able to talk to anyone that could handle the issue. I missed my daughter and living 2 hours away with no license was too far, so I transferred back home so I could be closer to her. Child support is taken directly out of my check and I was making extra payments to oblige the debt. Never was able to get a license. I ended up losing the job and getting fired for missing work. Uber wasn't reliable, friends and co-worker also proved unreliable as there were three occasions where I could not make it to work for lack of transportation. I was fired October of 2021 for missing work.

I had a court order to appear before a judge in November 2021 because I was still behind on child support. At the time I owed just under $2000 (my child support is $600 a month). I pleaded my case to the "judge" and she said that if I paid $500 towards the balancr that she would make sure I got a license and contact all the people to ensure it went through. It never happened, no letter, no call, nothing. With no license and money running out I agreed to move back to Charleston and work there with a start date of March 1st. I found a furnished place to live that was a mile from my job, I would need $1500 for rent on March 1st. At the time I had just paid my bills (vehicle (that I can't drive), cell phone, rent, gift for my daughter for Valentine's day) and had around $100 left to my name. I sold everything I own, cleared out my storage unit, sold everything that had any value and came up with $2500. Just enough to pay a months rent and have enough extra for food, until I start getting paid. I woke up yesterday and my account balance was $2700. I went to the grocery store and when I went to pay my card declined. I checked my banking app to find that my checking account was overdrawn $1,264 and my savings account was overdrawn $1,264. So I'm negative $2600 and think I've been scammed.

Turns out Child support emptied my account completely. They took $5200 out of my account. I owe around $2000, I called and never got an answer why they took out more than twice what I owe. They said they would deposit back any extra but that's going to be eaten up by overdrafts and fees. They charged $150 to levy the account, I have 5 overdrafts because they took out three separate drafts. So now I'm on the hook for at least $300 in fees and will be left with nothing if they even put the money back. Right now I have no food, no transportation, I don't have money for the rental in Charleston and will most likely be on the street in a week as I have ended my lease here and wouldn't have money to pay it anyway. I'm not lazy, I'm not a deadbeat Dad, I take care of my daughter and do anything humanly possible to see her and make sure she has everything that she wants. Talking to social services as a father is terrible, they treat you like scum, dehumanize you, and play that stigma that is your behind on child support your a dead beat dad.

This system is broken, I'm not eligible for any type of assistance, and have gone from having my life together and moving towards a secure future to probably being homeless in less than two weeks. If you made it this far thank you for your time, it's been a wild shitty ride and it's about to get worse