- It's always a struggle when you get out of jail to start over again.

I need money to move out.

I need money for a car.

I need money to get my license.

But I mean, if I look at it all like that, I get overwhelmed.

(calm music) I'm not in prison right now, I'm not in jail right now, but three different probations.

I still have an open case for retail theft.

So I have a lot of legal things going on.

(calm music) I have court at nine o'clock in the morning in Lake County, Indiana.

They got two cases against me now.

The other one I'm on probation for already.

(calm music) I'm hoping and praying that I get through all this, and just live my life, and go forward.

(calm music) (kissing) (clapping hands) Here we go.

(calm music) It's a three hour journey.

It's nine o'clock court.

There's no way to make it there at nine o'clock, impossible.

Even if I take the earliest metro, I get to Lake County, Indiana at 10 o'clock.

(calm music) I explained that to the judge and they were like, "We're just gonna keep it "at nine o'clock and you get here when you get here."

(calm music) I gotta pay these bus routes.

I gotta pay for a metro.

I gotta pay for Gary, Indiana bus routes.

(calm music) (bus braking) So I'm hoping that the best thing that comes out of this is that they add it onto the probation that I'm on.

I'm hoping that's what they do.

Worst come to worst, I do six months.

(calm music) I don't see God bringing me this far and saying you're going back to jail.

(calm music) (kids boxing) My whole pattern from maybe the age of 14 or whatnot, I always ran to alcohol and drugs.

- [Boy] That's 30 seconds.

- Drugs and alcohol were my outlet.

(basketball bouncing) I grew up in Marquette Park area in a household of two sisters and myself.

I'm the youngest, so I was a momma's boy.

My dad worked pretty much all day, every day.

So I was always running around with the kids in the neighborhood.

By the time you knew it, I was hanging around the wrong crowd.

I was already disappointing my parents and I knew it.

I barely graduated, but I graduated.

But only because I wanted to not look bad to my dad I guess.

I could see it now but everything escalated to being an addict.

(calm music) And then my dad was diagnosed with cancer, and after six years his body gave out, so he passed away.

I think the most that really hurt me was that he never got to see his only son do good.

(calm music) I just felt I guess, alone.

Now what am I gonna do?

(calm music) Once again, I do what I normally do.

Go numb my feelings somewhere.

(calm music) But this time I can't hold a job, I need money.

So crime is the only thing I know.

So I go out and steal, rob, and whatever.

I ended up in and out of jail, in and out of jail, in and out of jail, in and out of jail.

I've been in and out of jail for 15 years plus.

Now, it's like, wow, where'd all the years go?

I just threw 'em away just doin' nothing.

Didn't go what I wanted to go, but I have another court date.

They just wanted me to do 20 hours of community service and pay my fees, my court fees.

It's stressful 'cause at any time they can say, okay, well you violated your probation because you didn't pay the court fees.

I mean, I work minimum wage so it makes it a lot harder for me to do what I need to do.

I just hope I could pay these fees and stay outta jail.

(calm music) (bright relaxed music) Hey, Eva you wanna go outside?

- [Irene] Let's go outside, yes we're gonna go outside.

All right, let's go see the flowers.

- Elmo's World.

Today I'm goin' to visit my sister Irene 'cause she has custody of my daughter Eva.

Is that a dinosaur?

(mimicking dinosaur roaring) I could visit six hours a week.

It could be split up two or three days a week, but it is a total of six hours a week.

That's my baby.

(Irene laughing) Give me your hand.

This one.

Somebody has to be there, whether my sister, or family member, or DCFS.

I can't be with my daughter alone because my daughter was born with drugs in her system.

Look at the flowers.

And then being neglected, left at the hospital, 'cause I went to jail and her mother was out on the streets 'cause of an addiction problem and being homeless.

I mean, couldn't care for herself let alone a newborn.

My baby gave me a flower.

So I call my sister while I was in jail, and I told my sister "You have to go get my daughter."

That's when Irene told me she was like, "I'm already on it."

Since November of 2018, Irene's been the parent.

(Irene laughing) - [Irene] You're so big.

Look at you so big.

Yeah you're so big.

Ready?

- [Andino] My sister Irene was never angry at Eva, never.

She was extremely angry with me, for my daughter being born with drugs in her system.

She was extremely angry at me.

She's like, "I don't see how anybody could do this."

- [Irene] Go with daddy.

- I never thought about me doing it.

Never in a million years.

But it happened.

Put it in there, all the way.

And she was like, "Look, don't think that you're just gonna pop up "on my doorstep and see Eva."

And that hurt me.

Look at the bubbles, ahh look at the bubbles.

She's extremely attached to my sister.

That's a little hurtful for my pride.

You know, that should be me.

Get it.

- Where'd it go?

- [Andino] Where'd it go?

Boop.

What I want right now is to have full custody of my daughter.

- [Irene] One, two, three, whoa.

- Oh, look at right there, look at the big bubbles, whoa.

I don't just want custody of her, I want the best relationship with her.

Again?

Say yes.

- Yes.

- Yes.

I wanna be the one she runs to all the time.

Whoa, whoa, look at that one.

Get it.

(Andino gasping) The bubbles, the bubbles.

Let's do it again.

- [Irene] Bubbles.

(Irene laughing) (train running) - Hey my lady.

I try to go see Angela as much as possible.

What's up?

- Nothing.

- You all right?

- [Angela] Yup.

- Angela is at the Women's Treatment Center.

She had a drug problem just like myself.

And obviously she wants to be in Eva's life, in her daughter's life.

Just like myself.

I got a video of her this morning.

(Angela laughing) - Aww, look at how precious she is.

Aww.

- [Andino] Elmo.

Say hi to the camera.

- Aww, she like no.

- Yes, she's all happy for the camera.

- She wants you to follow her.

- [Andino] Yup, yup.

I had video this morning for a little bit.

To have custody, legal custody, DCFS requires drug and alcohol program, a parenting program, psychotherapy, and a place to stay for me and Eva, and her mother as a family.

- Well, hopefully she'll be with us by her second birthday.

That's what I'm hopin' and prayin'.

Almost a full time daddy almost, almost.

- Almost, that's good.

And you'd be a full-time mommy in a little bit.

- Mhm.

- Huh?

- Yup, I can't wait.

(Andino laughing) I can't wait.

(kissing) - Our relationship started off in drugs.

As we grew together, drugs wasn't the underlining thing that kept us together.

Geez, she's beautiful, she's motivated, she's strong, she's got a willpower that, when she puts her mind to it, nothing's gonna stop her.

- [Angela] I'm scared.

- Of course.

She was always there to have my back no matter what.

She's seen me at my worst and she never left my side.

And I think I could say I've seen her at her worst and I never left her side.

So that's my lady.

In my recovery right now, I'm not struggling.

Love you.

(kissing) Miss you.

I don't fight with it, I don't fight with, oh, I should go get a bag, go get a drink, or whatever.

Does the thought cross my mind?

Yeah.

(calm music)