Every October, Alabama fills up with haunted houses. People pay good money to walk through a fake asylum, get fake scared for an hour, and drive home laughing about it.
But thousands of Alabama families do not need a haunted house. They already have one. It has a Montgomery address and a state seal on the door.
The Alabama Department of Human Resources has spent decades writing horror stories with real children in them. A three year old left to die in a hot car by the very worker the state trusted to drive him. Fifty foster children placed with one couple while the state signed off again and again. Teachers begging for a little boy to be rescued while the reports went nowhere. These are not ghost stories. They are public record.
That is why we are launching Unmask DHR.
Starting Sunday, October 25 and running through Halloween night, we will publish one true story every day. Seven days. Seven documented horrors. Every one of them real, every one of them sourced, every one of them something the state of Alabama would rather you never read.
But this campaign is not just a week of articles. It is a rallying point.
If DHR has hurt your family, we want your story. Maybe they took your kids. Maybe they lied on paperwork. Maybe they made you feel powerless in a way you have never been able to explain to anyone who has not lived it. Tell us what happened. With your permission, your story could become an article on this site, so other families know they are not alone. You can share it here:
Every story is read by a real person. Nothing is published without talking to you first.
During the campaign week we will also publish an exposé we have been building, and we will spotlight one family’s story from the ones you send in. This is what the site has always been for. Real families. Real stories. Real accountability.
Follow the whole campaign with us. You can find us on every platform here: https://familiesvsdhr.com/find-us-everywhere/
The haunted houses close on November 1. The real one stays open all year. Let’s talk about it.