This is a thank you letter for all of you who gave to a stranger to help her and her son find safety this year.

A couple months ago, a Facebook friend of mine messaged me. It brought a smile to my face to see her name pop up in my messages box and we began catching up. She had reached out to me because she had a feeling I could help her with the terrible situation she found herself in. We came up with a plan to raise money so that she and her son could find a permanent, safe solution and used GoFundMe as a tool to raise these much-needed funds for her.

Here’s the original post that she and I crafted together:

Please join me in helping support a wonderful woman and her son move out of her abuser’s home. Her relationship with her now-ex (not the child’s father) became physically abusive recently, having escalated from verbal, emotional, and financial abuse that had built up slowly over time. When she discovered guns in the house that were not even locked up, she immediately got her son out of the house for both of their safety. She has done a remarkable job shielding her son from being aware of the abuse that has happened. This amazing woman, who works in the wellness industry and helps others, needs to stay anonymous to protect her grade-school aged child.

The dynamic between her and her now-ex changed when she moved in with him. He coerced her to quit her job (encouraging her to embrace stay-at-home mom responsibilities to then use that against her with verbal and emotional attacks and financial dependence). She has recently gone back to work and is taking additional steps to empower herself and keep herself and her son safe. She is inspiring and needs help now. She has been connecting with local DV services to explore additional ways of getting support but her options and local resources are limited and she has no extended family to turn to. Currently, she is staying at a friend’s house on a short term basis.

Because of the abuser’s insistence that she become financially dependent on him, she’s in need of some financial support right now. She is working again but needs to remove her child and herself from the home immediately. Let’s help her and her son get safe and secure.

Please join me in donating to her cause. The funds will be used for first-month rent, last-month rent, and a security deposit on a two-bedroom one-bath apartment in Seattle so her son can stay in his same school. The funds would also be used towards a moving service to help get her things out efficiently and safely.  If she raises more money than she needs for these specific costs, she will pay it forward and donate to another family with a similar need or a Local Domestic Violence Program.

Trust me in this, she is a kind, generous, and hard-working woman who gives back to her community and is taking all the steps she needs to empower herself and keep her and her son safe and protected. She is worthy of your love and support. If you can donate and share this with others, it would be so appreciated. We are so grateful for your support.

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Today is a day we get to celebrate together! I received this update from her and shared it on the GoFundMe Page:

 “Thank you friends and strangers alike! By the generosity of all of you donors, as well as a multitude of private donations, I was able to successfully flee the situation. Between community resources and the kind words and donations, I nearly reached my goal and was able to get to a safe living arrangement for me and my son. I feel like the second I got the keys to my new place that my entire life changed. For the first time in a year, I felt hopeful and alive. Good fortune has come my way and I’m excited about this new chapter of my life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping this to happen. I have already began donating time to a few of the organizations that were essential in helping me get back on my feet. I will never forget this experience and am overwhelmed at the kindness and generosity that still exists in this world. I will do my best daily to pay it forward in every way I am able. Thank you!!”

So thank you, friends, for all your generosity to help this wonderful woman and her son find a safe living arrangement. We are so grateful to all of you.

And to this woman, and all people out there reaching out for support to find safety for themselves and their children, I am so inspired by you. You are worthy of love and safety and support. Thank you, friend, for being brave enough to ask for support. We are so glad that you are now safe.