This is my childhood friend Sonja. She is a devoted mother of 6, (4 still live with her, 2 are graduated). Sonja lost her mom when she was a young girl and endured an abusive childhood, dispite all that she remains one of the most positive and generous people I know!

She and her kids have been through an extremely difficult year as they have navigated health challenges, car troubles, and escaping domestic violence.

I want to help my friend because she has done everything she possibly can to support her 4 children sill living at home and pay for the necessary legal fees to protect her family through a high-conflict divorce. She has been working two jobs as a nurse, given up sleep and her personal needs, cut back on every expense humanly possible-but she has reached a point where she cannot move forward without help.

Currently she is the full-time caregiver for her four children (ages 3, 9, 13, 16) she handles all

-medical and dental appointments

-Therapy

- school needs

- transportation

-daily care

- activities, rehearsals, lessons.

She does all this while working 40+ hrs as a nurse on the night shift, typically only getting 2-4hrs of sleep.

Financially she carries the burden of : the mortgage, groceries, taxes, utilities, joint debts, therapy for her children, insurance.

She has been in fear of losing stable housing and utilities. On top of this she recently had her hours at the hospital reduced due to low patient census which has unpredictably reduced her income. She relies on local food pantries and any other resources she can find to provide for her children's needs.

As her friend I've watched her work through exhaustion, stay grounded in her Christian faith, and act in kindness when she is being mistreated.

-Why she needs $10,000

Her attorney estimates a minimum of $10,000 to

-prepare for settlement conference (February 2026)

-prepare disclosures

-obtain legal documents that have been requested for multiple times, (the longer the other party continues to provide irrelevant documents the longer she continues to pay unnecessary fees to her lawyer)

-work towards finalizing child support, parenting plan, division of assets.

If the case cannot be settled at conference, trial would cost over $40,000, which would put Sonja and her kids at enormous risk. This is why she is doing all she can to get the legal help she needs right now.

Every dollar of this GoFundMe will go directly toward legal fees needed to reach settlement conference.

Sonja is doing everything humanly possible and beyond to help herself but she just needs help to make it through the final step of her divorce and put her family in a safe situation.

If you can donate, please do.

If you can share, that helps just as much.

Every bit will make a huge difference for this wonderful family!

Thank you for reading and thank you for caring.

Love, Cheryl