Parents Filed For Emergency Custody Of My Child Even Though I Live With Them.

I apologize if this isn’t the correct place to post this, I’m just not sure what else to do.
Location: Virginia

I moved in with my parents in November 2024 after unexpectedly using my apartment due to financial hardships. My parents offered my child and I to move in with them, as my other alternative was homelessness. We had an agreement that I would pay rent and continue to work full-time they provided childcare.
I have continued to work full-time and take care of my child throughout the time of living with my parents.

I have a very complicated relationship with my parents. Growing up, they were emotionally and physically abusive towards my siblings and I. They are extremely manipulative and have control issues. In 2021-2023. I went no contact with them after I moved out of their home. However after I had gotten pregnant in another state, and with no support system I reached out because I was scared.

I want to clarify I never wanted to move back into their home however I had no other options. The past six years my mother has been through some counseling and I can admit that she is a different parent to my youngest siblings, than she was to my middle sister and me. Keeping this in consideration, I was only trying to do what I thought was best for my child until I could get on my own 2 feet again. I was still very active in my child’s day-to-day activities and oversaw discipline over my child.

Three weeks ago, I received a phone call from the courthouse, telling me that my parents have filed for emergency against me. In their motion they stated that they were concerned over the safety and security of my child. I truly believe this is another attempt of them trying to control me by using my child.

My parents have made some very intense and extremely over exaggerated claims about me. We had court this past Monday and there was several things my mother flat out lied about to the judge. I’ve spent the last three weeks gathering as much evidence as I can to back up my statement that I am in fact to fit and stable parent, and that even though I am living with my parents does not mean I cannot provide for my child on my own. The judge didn’t even look at any of my evidence. The only piece of evidence she looked at was a letter from my child’s father (who lives out of state) stating that he does not want my child to be left in their custody or for my parents to have visitation rights over my child.
Even so, the judge granted, temporary shared custody between me and my mother with a final hearing in October.

I do not know what to do. My parents are trying to claim that it is black and white, but it is not. I do not trust my child will be safe without being actively present in the home with her. In April this year, my parents dog bit my child on the face while I was at work. My parents waited until after I got home 10 hours later to tell me about the dog bite and did not take her for emergency care at the hospital. I ended up filing a police report and calling animal control after the Dog Bite and have been researching daycare in my area. I was told in a verbal argument that if I were to enroll my child into daycare that they would “pick her up and drive away with her.” and that enrolling my child into a daycare makes me a bad mother.

The fact that the judge did not even want to look at my evidence, has been extremely disheartening as I spent long and hard gathering as much evidence I could to deflect some of my parents claims as well as writing and in-depth timeline of the entire time I have lived in my parents home with them since moving back.

I know at this point I’ve done all I can and need to find legal help. I just am unsure of what to do or how to go about doing so as I am actively trying to move out and have been for the past few weeks. I cannot afford a lawyer at this time.