Legal & Recovery Support for Dakota

Hello,

Our dear friend, Dakota, is in need of financial assistance for legal fees as she contests a case from her abuser. Dakota is a current 4th year student at Northwestern University planning to graduate in the spring. After ending a highly manipulative and abusive relationship, Dakota was only looking for peace and healing in her remaining months at school. However, her abuser chose to write about the relationship and share it on social media, painting her to be an intimidating and aggressive individual, which is simply untrue and perpetuates harmful notions that have been used to discriminate against Black women like Dakota for ages. Then the abuser pursued action against Dakota through the university that was eventually dismissed due to the allegations being found false and groundless. Unfortunately, the abuser further escalated the situation to involve the legal system and it has since developed into a highly stressful and retraumatizing court hearing set for a later date in the spring.

Dakota is well within her right to have legal representation, but as a first generation low-income (FGLI) student, she has minimal resources to fund this process. This is why we are turning to the community, asking for any support that y’all are willing and able to give so she can fight these baseless claims that put her bright future at risk. The situation has unfairly made Dakota fearful of simply walking around campus and the Evanston area because of the chance that she might see her abuser. As her close friends, it is beyond heartbreaking to see Dakota–a dependable, loving, sensitive, and bright person–suffer in this way.

All donations will be used for the legal fees for this case, and any remaining funds will go towards therapy costs and other basic needs. We want Dakota to be able to find the peace and healing she was looking for, and flourish despite the hardship that has been forced upon her. Your support will aid in that process and we thank you endlessly for it.