4 replies to this topic

[Kesavah]

Hi All,

I've never done anything quite like this and I need suggestions, and maybe
some help ­ here's the short version: I have a friend who is in a very
difficult position regarding her children and keeping them away from their
evil abusive father who keeps dragging everyone to court trying to get joint
custody while his criminal sentencing keeps getting delayed (for the child
abuse). It's just ridiculous what my dear friend has been going through,
and of course her legal fees are now piling up. We want to create a
campaign to get her story "out there" so that we can make the craziness
known and also so that we can set up a way for donations to be received for
legal fees.

I'm sure there¹s lots I can do, I just don¹t know what or how to start, and
if anyone out there has experience with this I'd totally be willing to pay
for your services as well, to me this is worth it.

Thanks so much!

[Candy Beauchamp]

I would be careful with this. I have some experience with this, not much, but there are a few things you need to think about:

1. Ticking him off. If you do this, will be go nuts and hurt someone?
2. Legally, she could be setting herself up for charges, slander, or something, I dunno.

I wouldn't do anything without consulting with an attorney. I'd look to family and friends quietly or talk to women's shelters about what type of financial help might be available.

[PauletteVA]

You could set this up without mentioning his name. I would create a webpage about it and set up a paypal account to accept donations. There's no reason why you need to point him out as the culprit to accept donations. Although further to Candy's post, do you think he would find out? something to think about.

[Cathy D]

My gut reaction says to tread lightly with this. It might be nice to 'spread the message' but you may be opening a can of worms. She's probably already contacted a Safe Home Society or Transition House for support but they could probably offer some legal advice about getting their message out. I was thinking that perhaps a blog where their names could be changed (to protect the innocent...) but I would definitely want to be looking at the legal ramifications first. Especially since there is still the court battle going on. This is the link to the Nelson Women's Centre...I haven't looked through the site but I'm sure there will be people you can e-mail to get more info. Good luck to her and her kids...and to you for being a strong supporter. I hope things work out well for her.

[Tawnya]

I like Candy's advice, check with your attorney first