My name is Sarah Macias and many of you may know me from my business Abracadabra, or possibly from my involvement in our Merced community, especially Downtown.

I'm a devoted mother, loyal friend, and fierce advocate for others in need.

Well, now is the time when I have to humble myself and ask for help from my community. For years, I have lived in constant fear due to a relentless stalker. Despite doing everything right—reporting, documenting, seeking legal protection—I have been repeatedly failed by the systems meant to protect me. Law enforcement and the courts have offered me little more than frustration and heartbreak. It is one thing to deal with the daily trauma of knowing someone is watching you, following you, and trying to hurt you and your family, but then to ask for help time and time again only to be brushed off and told that there is nothing they can do.

Additionally, as if the situation was not awful enough, the fact that I was never intimately involved with my stalker means I'm ineligible for crisis services and support through various other organizations. I have been left to navigate this terrifying reality alone.

There is no way to fully quantify the toll that this has been taking on me for years now. It has bled into every aspect of my life; it has disrupted my ability to run my business, seek additional income, and the constant running around to law enforcement agencies and the courts as of recent has only added to the toll.

At this moment, I need help from my community, and this fundraiser is to help with:

- Covering the cost of enhancing safety measures of my home

- Personal safety devices for myself and my family members

- Trauma-informed self-defense classes

- Therapy for the C-PTSD this has caused

- As well as additional assistance for paying bills due to the significant loss of income this forced reality has caused. Due to my safety concerns, I was not able to continue with the part-time job that I had acquired, and have also put a pause on my own events and pop-ups. I will be trying to liquidate some merchandise online, but I fear that this will not be enough to cover my rent and bills for this upcoming month.

This whole situation escalated recently because I walked another woman through the restraining order process so that she might file one against this individual because she is being terrorized as well. Please help me so that I might continue to help others navigating this flawed system.