Hello, my name is Heather and i’m raising funds for a close friend who’s going through a difficult divorce and needs lawyer money. We’ve decided to not name him (or his ex husband) in this campaign to avoid any additional legal complications.

My friend is a 27 year old lgbt man, who recently got out of an abusive relationship.

(Trigger warning going forward)

This May my friend attempted to take his own life as a result of severely declining mental health from the relationship he was in. His partner called the police on him and had him removed from their house, he was hospitalized for roughly 2 weeks, and when he got discharged his husband kicked him out of their shared apartment. This came after years of screaming, financial neglect, controlling behaviors, and unfaithful sexual misconduct towards my friend.

The car (that my friend pays for and has always been the main one paying for) was abandoned to him by his partner and was told “take it with you, it reminds me of you and I never want to see it again.” His partner has now filed for divorce and is trying to get the car back. He is also trying to force my friend to pay for all of his (the ex’s) attorney fees, and pay him alimony going forward.

My friend is disabled, has mental health conditions, hasn’t had a stable living situation since being kicked out, and makes roughly $200 a paycheck. He obviously can not afford to pay this man’s court costs much less alimony. My friend has tried to just get a simple divorce and go their separate ways, his ex refuses however and is contesting it.

My friend has a lawyer lined up that needs $4k by Dec 30th for the hearing. If he isn’t able to pay for the lawyer, he will have to use a probono lawyer and risk somehow losing the case.

He’s been through so much the last 6 months and just wants to move on with his life. I can speak first hand for how abusive and manipulative his ex is, and the only reason he’s contesting the divorce is to get every cent he can out of my friend and hurt him as much as he can. I genuinely fear for my friends mental health, being able to have a reputable lawyer to get him through this would ease everyone’s minds. No one should have to go through this for Christmas.

Funds will go towards paying the lawyer, any additional funds would go towards other living costs during the divorce (missed work, travel expenses, etc) My friend is trying to get a loan to pay the lawyer with, if he’s able to get one (he’s been turned down by several) the money will go towards paying the loan off.