Jane Doe's Domestic Violence Fund
First let us say, we are a group of Jane Doe’s friends. You can probably guess that Jane Doe is not her real name; we’ve taken on the task of gathering help for her because she has reached a place where she cannot advocate for herself, for her own safety. Here is a bit of her story:
My name is Jane Doe. I was once married to a physically abusive man. We have a minor child that we share joint custody of. After the divorce, the physical abuse stopped. However, the emotional and mental abuse intensified. My ex-husband is clever with the abuse because he harasses and abuses me with the court ordered custody agreement. After enduring years of this emotional and mental abuse, I was pushed past my breaking point. I went to a state funded Domestic Violence organization for help, as I have been instructed by numerous people and other groups. The state funded Domestic Violence organization instructed me to file a restraining order. I made the motion and filed in 2015. A few days before the hearing, I was contacted by a representative at Legal Aid who told me that there was no longer funding to help people who are victims of non-physical abuse. I was instructed by the representative to ask for a dismissal without prejudice because I was representing myself and my ex-husband has a lawyer who is an expert in family law. On the court date, I did as was instructed, I asked for dismissal without prejudice and it was granted. Shortly after, I was served papers from my ex-husband for Abuse of Process and I am being sued for 10,000 dollars and the cost of his lawyer’s fees. I have less than a month to find and fund a lawyer to help me.
Please help our friend. She did what she was told to do. We will use this money to help her afford a lawyer and stop the abuse once and for all. Another issue is our judges do not know that many state funded Domestic Violence organizations are sending people to file restraining orders. While some branches of these organizations do not know that judges are turning these people down and sending them to custodial court, which enables the abusers to abuse the victims further.
My name is Jane Doe. I was once married to a physically abusive man. We have a minor child that we share joint custody of. After the divorce, the physical abuse stopped. However, the emotional and mental abuse intensified. My ex-husband is clever with the abuse because he harasses and abuses me with the court ordered custody agreement. After enduring years of this emotional and mental abuse, I was pushed past my breaking point. I went to a state funded Domestic Violence organization for help, as I have been instructed by numerous people and other groups. The state funded Domestic Violence organization instructed me to file a restraining order. I made the motion and filed in 2015. A few days before the hearing, I was contacted by a representative at Legal Aid who told me that there was no longer funding to help people who are victims of non-physical abuse. I was instructed by the representative to ask for a dismissal without prejudice because I was representing myself and my ex-husband has a lawyer who is an expert in family law. On the court date, I did as was instructed, I asked for dismissal without prejudice and it was granted. Shortly after, I was served papers from my ex-husband for Abuse of Process and I am being sued for 10,000 dollars and the cost of his lawyer’s fees. I have less than a month to find and fund a lawyer to help me.
Please help our friend. She did what she was told to do. We will use this money to help her afford a lawyer and stop the abuse once and for all. Another issue is our judges do not know that many state funded Domestic Violence organizations are sending people to file restraining orders. While some branches of these organizations do not know that judges are turning these people down and sending them to custodial court, which enables the abusers to abuse the victims further.
Organizer
Kathrine Green
Organizer
Winston-Salem, NC