Help Emily Start a New Life Free from Abuse

Meet Emily. Emily is one of the kindest, warmest, biggest-hearted individuals that I know. Emily has never been just my step-daughter, but truly my bonus daughter. She is an aspiring writer and has published one book, Arys. She is currently working on the sequel, Eryn. Her goal is to continue to write books for young audiences that feature strong young women being their own heroes. She's extremely conscientious about sustainability, loves the outdoors, and helps others when and how she can. Like the widow in the Gospels of Mark and Luke, I have witnessed this wonderful woman buy coffee and meals for the homeless just because they looked hungry or cold as she passed by, donate to other GoFundMe campaigns, and when she didn't have enough of her own funds, as a Lyft driver, she posted the QR code from one of her rider's campaigns (a perfect stranger until they rode in Emily's car) on her dashboard to help bring awareness of their plight to any others who may ride with her.

Emily now needs some help from others. For the past 11 years, she has been in a relationship that has been physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially abusive. The abuse started as these things often do, with an inappropriate action, an apology, and a promise that it would never happen again. Because it felt so benign at first, and so normal the longer it went on, she didn't say anything to her friends or family. As she is currently living in San Francisco and all of her friends and family are in Florida, Texas, Michigan, and Canada, it wasn't easy for us to see or realize what was happening. Recently, it's gotten bad enough that it can't be hidden or ignored anymore. Myself and several others of #SquadEmily have implemented #OperationExtractEmily to help her leave this situation.

Emily is currently staying with her sister and her emotional support animal, Scotty, in Michigan. She was due to return to San Francisco yesterday. However, she has agreed not to go back to her apartment with the exception of packing up her things in order to start a new life with support from her Uncle Tai in Canada, and to not go back to San Francisco to do this alone. I'll be joining her in S.F. the day before Thanksgiving to help her pack up her things and get her car. Then, quite appropriately in my opinion, on Thanksgiving day we will begin the adventure of her new life with a 4-day drive from S.F. to Toronto, Canada.

Emily is strong, resilient, and does not want to take on a "victim" mentality. She is a survivor. She prides herself on being self-supporting and doesn't like to ask for help from others, especially financial help. She graduated with a B.A. in Communications, including digital marketing. When she was unable to find steady work in that field, she changed gears and went through a software engineering bootcamp and worked briefly in the tech industry before being laid off due to the economy. When she got laid off, she began driving Lyft in order to pay her half of the bills as was demanded of her.

Unfortunately, during this time of transition, Emily will not be able to support herself. She currently supports herself driving Lyft, and it will take time to get all of the licensing, etc. that she needs to be able to drive in Canada. Her abuser set up her savings accounts and is currently refusing to provide her with any passwords, making it difficult for her to access her own funds. Any funds raised through this GoFundMe campaign will be utilized to help her continue to pay monthly expenses such as her student loan, car payment, and car insurance. Additionally, they will be used to support her move from S.F. by hiring security to ensure our safety as we retrieve her belongings, as well as expenses incurred on the drive from S.F to Toronto. She is also in need of winter clothing as winters in Canada are much different from winters in California.

We are asking for your financial support, love, and prayers to help Emily in her transition to a new, abuse-free life in Toronto where she can focus on developing into the beautiful, talented, joyful woman she was meant to be.

According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline website, on average, it takes a survivor of abuse seven times to leave before staying away for good. Exiting the relationship is the most unsafe time for them. If you are unable to donate, please share. It all helps. Please help me in whatever way that you can to help Emily get and stay away from her abuser the first time she tries.