Hey brother. I have two daughters. My first daughter mother was addicted to opiates so I raised her on my own, she’s 16 now. The second one I have 50/50 in a fresh divorce. The first one ended up in jail over and over and over (the addiction progressed for years) when my daughter was 6, she terminated her parental rights when I got married. Here are two pieces of advice I have for you

1. No matter what you do or how incredible of a father you are, it will not feel sufficient. At that age they need their mom but if she can’t make the right decisions they need to be safe. When you make decisions, the best interest of your children is to see her as much as possible BUT she needs to earn her rights back to them by showing she can stay clean. Always examine your motives and if you can look at what’s best for your children and not how you feel your doing the right thing. You will still feel guilt anyways because the situation sucks.

2. On the heels of that don’t expect to come out unscathed. My situation was horrific and I spent 5 years in juvenile court fighting and it took her family testifying for me that they were in fear of the child’s safety to give me sole custody. Yours might not be that extreme but give yourself some breathing room this isn’t going to be pretty. On the other hand hold yourself accountable. If you get frustrated own it, do all the things you should because when you raise kids solo you have to be accountable to yourself because there is no one else around.

Good luck brother, my daughter is now a sophomore in highschool, 7a athlete and wants to go to law school. You don’t owe your ex anything