Shana and her daughter need community support!

My sweet cousin Shana and her baby daughter need your help to survive intimate partner violence (IPV). As anyone who has been through such a miserable situation knows, finding safety is not only emotionally and physically challenging, but also extremely expensive.

Shana is a new mother, with a darling six-month-old girl to take care, of as well as herself. She needs access to childcare while working and needs assistance with renting a new home for her and her daughter. Her knee is broken, which will require surgery, as well as a long recovery process. While she waits for her surgery, she is unable to move around without crutches, which is very difficult.

Too many women are prevented from exiting unsafe relationships because they are unable to afford to do so. Having to juggle a full-time job, childcare, and medical bills is a steep climb with a busted knee and a wounded heart. Despite advances in our culture, asking for and receiving community support for intimate partner violence is still challenging. I commend her for being courageous enough to ask for help. However, it is also clear that she has no choice.

We are asking for $6000 to help Shana get back on her feet. She needs help with the cost of daycare for her daughter, moving expenses, and medical bills. Anyone who knows Shana will testify to her sincere and gentle heart. She always has a kind and loving word for anyone in need. Her career is in service of the most vulnerable members of our society -- addicts, formerly incarcerated people, victims of IPV, and others.

Shana has put so much good into the world that we hope some of it comes back to her through your support. Let's show our willingness to end IPV first and foremost by showing up as a community that can provide warm and loving assistance for people like her.