Hello Community Members!

I'm Elizabeth Sharp, and I’m raising funds to support the work of Wellspring right here in our own community. (Wellspring is known as The Domestic Violence & Rape Crisis Services of Saratoga County)

Over the last year I have learned so much about how incredibly common Domestic Violence is among our community. DV doesn't look like one might think to those on the outside. I have learned our community has friends and family members who are currently still in domestic violence situations at home. Will you help me help create more resources for our community?

When a partner puts their hands around your neck, your chances of being killed go up by 350%. It takes a victim an average of 7 times to leave, IF they survive. Abusers will take videos of your reactions to their abuse and say you are the abuser. Being worn down, degraded, and dehumanized by someone you love hurts, to say the least.

My goal is to help the increase the chances of someone who has not been able to get out yet, as well as those who have just left their abuser, and need support. Many, if not all survivors, have lasting emotional and psychological damage from being physically or emotionally abused by their partner. If you don't know what DV is beyond physical abuse, look up trauma bonding, breadcrumbing, and stonewalling. You can also look up PTSD and CPTSD.

Let's make 2026 a happy and healthy year for people who need it most!

Elizabeth

Every contribution helps in meaningful ways. Here are some general costs involved for helping our community members become safe again:

$25 Cost of a change of clothes for someone who is in the hospital because they have been sexually

assaulted (their own clothes are taken for evidence.)

$30 Cost for one safety bar (but they often need more than one because most homes have more than one door.) Safety bars are given out to clients so that abusers cannot get inside. Even if the abuser no longer has keys many will pick the lock, safety bars help keep them out until the police arrive. We give out hundreds of these every year.

$50 A round trip cab ride so that someone can come to Wellspring’s office to do an Order of Protection. OR money for gas for two weeks so someone can drive to and from their new job

before their first paycheck arrives.

$50 Dog food for 2 dogs who are in Wellspring’s Safe Pet Program. Sometimes victims of abuse won’t leave out of fear for what could happen to their pet. Wellspring’s Safe Pet Program fosters

pets while clients reside in our shelter. Once the client finds new housing they are reunited.

$100 An air mattress for someone who has moved into a new apartment but does not have a bed yet.

$150 Groceries for a mom and her two children for one week.

$200 Diapers for one month for a mom with a newborn.

$250 Replacing a cell phone that an abuser damaged so that someone can continue working, or call for help if they need it. Abusers very often destroy their victim’s phones.

$300 Assistance with someone’s heat bill during the cold winter months.

$500 The average cost to get someone started in their new home. Many times, clients must leave quickly and the only way to safely do so is to leave everything of their own behind. This amount helps with things like clothing, household items, toiletries, cleaning supplies, furniture, etc.

$1,000 Assistance with a security deposit for someone who has found a new apartment.

$1,500 Wellspring’s monthly cost of 24/7 hour hotline response (includes costs for things like our answering hotline service, on-call pay for Wellspring staff, mileage reimbursement if a staff is on call and has to respond to a sexual assault at Saratoga Hospital, etc.)

$2,500 To train Saratoga County educators (health teachers, guidance counselors, school admins, etc.

about relationship abuse in teens.

$5,000 Cost of training for Saratoga Hospital Nurses on signs of strangulation.

$10,000 To bring a Dating Violence Education Program to an entire local campus for one school year.