Mother & Two Sons - Domestic Violence Survivors

My dearest friend Lyssa Bowen(England) who grew up in Idaho and is now living in Florida as an artist and mother of two beautiful boys(8 and 11 years old) just endured the most terrifying night of her life. She and her sons unfortunately became a statistic - a survivor of domestic violence. A man she knew to trust and love, her partner in life and father figure to her boys - turned hateful and violent.Her story is as follows:On the night of January 25th into the morning of January 26th after celebrating Lyssa’s 2nd place win at an art show - feeling on top of the world....her world came crashing down, doing all she could to protect her children and herself from the most terrifying night of her life. A dream come true that quickly became a nightmare.After returning home from the art show - her boyfriend Ren of almost 3 years was heavily intoxicated and became unreasonably angry - mad about anything and everything such as laundry being on the bed.He became verbally abusive to her and her 8 year old son at which point Lyssa told him to sleep on the couch, not wanting to be around his abusive behavior. He then screamed at her son telling him to “get the f*** off the couch and go to bed!” Lyssa came out and got her son away from him, bringing him into her room to sleep with her.Enraged, he then started yelling at Lyssa to leave because “he pays all the G** damn bills” (he was paying all the bills, so she could save her money and focus on her art and gallery opening - something he was supportive of).He entered their bedroom and lifted the bed, throwing it at them, destroying their bedroom, breaking their TV and numerous other belongings - saying he was going to “get the 40 and make them leave.” He retrieves the gun and fired it FOUR times into the wall adjacent to the box spring Lyssa and her son were standing next to as she shielded her son with her body - trying to protect him. Two bullets ricocheted off the concrete, into the box spring narrowly missing her 8 year old son. Lyssa was hoping it would end, terrified for hers and her sons lives - all while her oldest son (11) was in his bedroom, hearing the gun shots - his mother scream - not knowing if they were alive or dead.He reloaded. Lyssa and her son managed to escape the their bedroom, getting her oldest son and running into the back bedroom - having her boys hide in the bathroom - she barricaded herself against the bedroom door while her sons hid, crouched down in the bathtub. He continued to break things and throw stuff around. After finding them hiding in the bedroom - he tried to break the door down - shot a rifle while they did all they could to hide and protect themselves.Lyssa heard her window of opportunity as he was away from the door and she grabbed her boys ran for their lives - making it to their car, calling the police at 1:45am. Ren realized she had called 911 and tried to make a run for it - grabbing a few items - guns, liquor, tobacco, his guitar, some clothes.... leaving behind his phone and wallet - trying to escape the inevitable and running the horror he just unleashed on his girlfriend and children. Thankfully he was caught right outside their neighbor and is now is custody facing numerous felony charges and hopefully a very lengthy sentence.After surviving this unforgettable night - Lyssa has suffered not only emotionally, physically but also financially - as she is now the soul provider for her home and family. It would be greatly appreciated if we could help her get back on her feet, making her home feel safe again and so her boys are comfortable where they sleep. She needs to provide counseling for herself, and her boys - along with replacing items broken(washing machine as well as they were working to get one) and having at least a month of cushion until she can get everything straightened out.Not only does she have medical bills, household bills, food, she also has legal costs of keeping Ren away from her and her family and hopefully locked up for the foreseeable future.Please help this beautiful family begin to heal and move forward.