Goodday,

(picture not available at present due to ongoing litigation)

My name is Joe H. My family matter started since the birth of my daughter in 1993. I never lived with her, I was used as a sperm donor.

Ever since the birth of  daughter, the mother swore she was going to remove my daughter from my life if I did not comply to her demands.

I carefully sought out referrals to a lawyer and I thought I had one of the best lawyers in town. Boy was I mistaken. I hired ---- name removed-- .  I literally had to chase him down on the streets just to get to talk to him and ask him why I was denied access when I had a court order specifying access.  A court order was finally made but due to the incredible time delays of the lawyer failing to act on my instructions. The order was nothing special and could have been settled very quickly but it wasn’t.

I thought I was being more careful in selecting my second lawyer. This one came with references. He managed to send “hate mail” to the mother’s lawyer, dragged it out for several years and generally did nothing for years except send me bills and bleed me of money. For me he achieved absolutely nothing. A final order was made but it did not allow for the practical problems of denial of access. It was a useless order.

I went looking for another lawyer and a friend recommended me to a lawyer with a rather disgusting nickname. I’m heterosexual and he took delight in telling me all about his male gay sex partners, their antics together, and billed me for it.  He was however able to get me an order for police enforcement of access but again, the order failed to deal with the reality that mother had no intention of allowing any access except on her very difficult terms.

When I married, the mother turned nastier and came up with false allegations of sexual abuse. This was totally destruction of the relationship with my daughter. I did not know how to deal with these horrible false allegations. My lawyer either did not want to deal with it or told me he was too busy. He had to go so I went looking for help and I was recommended by a journalist to contact the Ottawa Men’s Centre.

Obviously, I can't say too much about my case due to ongoing litigation but I can tell you that I've received a great deal of support from the Ottawa Men’s Centre. They helped me prepare my own court documents. They were a refreshing change. They  have all been through the grinder of family law, false allegations, false criminal charges and understand the reality that family court is a very dirty corrupt business that requires experience and knowledge in how to deal with the worst aspects.

If you are a father looking for support in your custody battle then as a devoted father, I would recommend the Ottawa Men’s Centre to you. I’ve met several of the members and they all appear to me to be dedicated Ottawa fathers who are very much interested in what is best for children. They are not “angry fathers” but rather nice guys with the real experience and knowledge who simply wish to help prevent other fathers from going the hell of family court without any effective support or resources.

You can email me at the address below.

Sincerely

JoeH ( a t ) ottawa mens centre (dot) com