Escape from DV for Melissa & Kids
Donation protected
“In the United States, an average of 20 people experience intimate partner physical violence [Domestic Violence] every minute.” (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence) You read that right, every minute. This is a fundraiser established with the intention of helping a strong single mom relocate her three beautiful girls to safety, security, and a support system that will foster healing, love and recovery from their abuser. This fundraiser and story are being shared with the expressed permission of the victims in an effort to escape their current situation and rebuild their lives. Please read, share, and if you can--donate. Thank you.
Melissa is the mother of three adolescent girls, one of which has severe non-verbal autism and other disabilities. She and her daughters made the brave choice to report their abuser and have since been trying to relocate to safety. Despite the efforts of their domestic violence advocate and government assistance, they have been unable to find affordable housing in her home state, which is now among the top five most expensive states in the country to live in. And since the abuser is no longer in the home due to court orders of protection, she is now burdened with covering the cost of living without a second financial contributor. Consequently, all funds for food and clothing are now diverted to ensure the children have a roof over their heads and utilities. She and her daughters have applied for food assistance, taken advantage of food distribution programs, and have stretched what goods they have as far as they can, but this is no way for a family to live. Due to the nature of her daughter’s severe challenges and disabilities, Melissa is unable to work and relies solely on her own disability income, child support from the girls’ father, and the limited public assistance that she qualifies for. In addition to the financial challenges presented by the full time needs of her disabled daughter, the option of living in multi-family housing such as an apartment is simply not feasible with her daughter’s disabilities, which cause loud and uncontrollable meltdowns with no provocation.
Melissa does not have the support of her family, but she does have the support of her Ex-Husband who is the father of all three children and his wife, along with his family. The only problem? They live 1200 miles away. Melissa and her daughters no longer feel safe in their home state and have come to the decision that living in the same state as those who are willing to step up and help them on a routine basis would make a world of difference for their quality of life, provide an opportunity to start fresh and far away from their abuser, and the ability to begin the healing process.
She and her daughters are asking for help to cover the expense of making a 1200 mile move. We’ve crunched the numbers and for all the expenses entailed to move this family across the country and to safety, she needs $3,500.00 for this to be feasible; we set the goal a little higher to help cover the fees charged by GFM. We can help her move, resettle, and connect her to the supports and services they need, but we cannot fund the move. Ideally, we would like to help Melissa and her daughters move and resettle before the end of the month. The rationale behind this timeline is multi-faceted: first, it gets the children out of the home where the violence occurred, second, moving before rent is due will enable Melissa to apply her monthly funds towards a new, more affordable living situation, third, it will enable the children to enroll in school and will provide time for Melissa to find appropriate educational placement for her autistic daughter.
We realize this is a big ask, that many people live paycheck to paycheck, and that your hard earned money is likely earmarked for needs for yourself and your own family. But we also realize that we have a large and amazing network of kind and generous friends, family, and colleagues and through the magic of social media and that magical “share” button, we may indeed be able to make this seemingly impossible goal a reality. So with that we thank you for reading, we thank you for donating, and we thank you for sharing this even if you cannot afford to donate.
Melissa is the mother of three adolescent girls, one of which has severe non-verbal autism and other disabilities. She and her daughters made the brave choice to report their abuser and have since been trying to relocate to safety. Despite the efforts of their domestic violence advocate and government assistance, they have been unable to find affordable housing in her home state, which is now among the top five most expensive states in the country to live in. And since the abuser is no longer in the home due to court orders of protection, she is now burdened with covering the cost of living without a second financial contributor. Consequently, all funds for food and clothing are now diverted to ensure the children have a roof over their heads and utilities. She and her daughters have applied for food assistance, taken advantage of food distribution programs, and have stretched what goods they have as far as they can, but this is no way for a family to live. Due to the nature of her daughter’s severe challenges and disabilities, Melissa is unable to work and relies solely on her own disability income, child support from the girls’ father, and the limited public assistance that she qualifies for. In addition to the financial challenges presented by the full time needs of her disabled daughter, the option of living in multi-family housing such as an apartment is simply not feasible with her daughter’s disabilities, which cause loud and uncontrollable meltdowns with no provocation.
Melissa does not have the support of her family, but she does have the support of her Ex-Husband who is the father of all three children and his wife, along with his family. The only problem? They live 1200 miles away. Melissa and her daughters no longer feel safe in their home state and have come to the decision that living in the same state as those who are willing to step up and help them on a routine basis would make a world of difference for their quality of life, provide an opportunity to start fresh and far away from their abuser, and the ability to begin the healing process.
She and her daughters are asking for help to cover the expense of making a 1200 mile move. We’ve crunched the numbers and for all the expenses entailed to move this family across the country and to safety, she needs $3,500.00 for this to be feasible; we set the goal a little higher to help cover the fees charged by GFM. We can help her move, resettle, and connect her to the supports and services they need, but we cannot fund the move. Ideally, we would like to help Melissa and her daughters move and resettle before the end of the month. The rationale behind this timeline is multi-faceted: first, it gets the children out of the home where the violence occurred, second, moving before rent is due will enable Melissa to apply her monthly funds towards a new, more affordable living situation, third, it will enable the children to enroll in school and will provide time for Melissa to find appropriate educational placement for her autistic daughter.
We realize this is a big ask, that many people live paycheck to paycheck, and that your hard earned money is likely earmarked for needs for yourself and your own family. But we also realize that we have a large and amazing network of kind and generous friends, family, and colleagues and through the magic of social media and that magical “share” button, we may indeed be able to make this seemingly impossible goal a reality. So with that we thank you for reading, we thank you for donating, and we thank you for sharing this even if you cannot afford to donate.
Organizer
Dana Murrah
Organizer
Albuquerque, NM