Help Athena get our of her unsafe neighborhood

My good friend Athena Kim is an artist. We met in Palo Alto a few years ago when she was on a panel at Playground Global. We got to talking because her art is on the wall there and I'd noticed it and appreciated it. Athena is super sweet, caring and friendly.

In the meantime she survives as an artist, depending on the kindness of her friends and patrons. She lives in a very unsafe neighborhood in Oakland because it is cheap and as an artist she needs room to paint and store her artwork.

I was over at her place visiting a few weeks ago and was deeply disturbed by how unsafe her neighborhood is. The crime reports in the area are terrifying. Athena regularly takes a long way home from public transit in order to not walk an unsafe way under a freeway bridge. She mentioned it to me "I usually avoid this way, but I think it's safe walking with you."

 

Well sure enough last week a terrible thing happened. Athena was robbed at gunpoint. Furthermore she was on her way home from selling a painting and lost $4,000 in cash.

For a struggling artist this is a staggering amount! My heart is sick to think that this caring person who can least afford it had months of living expenses just snatched from her.

(She knows she shouldn't have been walking around with that amount of cash, but her last deposit got stuck in the ATM so she was planning to make a deposit in person when the banks opened the next Monday.)

 

My greatest fear is that the robber who got such a rich payout for his efforts will return and I fear for Athena's safety. Or some other crime will happen to her in this neighborhood. Rents in the bay area are astronomical which makes it hard for an artist to uproot.

 

My idea for this fund raising effort is to raise enough money to get Athena out of her unsafe situation and into an apartment in a safer area. (Hopefully we can raise first, last and deposit).

 

Additionally I'd love to have some left over to get her into some weekly counseling to help her with the trauma of being the victim of a violent crime.

 

I estimate:

$3,000/mo (first), $3,000 (last), $3,000 (deposit). The remaining $3,000 could provide months of therapy to help her through the PTSD and anxiety she's experiencing. For $12k we could change this beautiful soul's life for the better.

 

Athena is a sweetheart and I can think of no one more deserving of a helping hand. She takes care of herself and her friends and contributes art, beauty and kindness to the world.

 

Let's help her stay safe and help her into a better living situation.