I'm Melissa, and I'm fundraising for my younger sister, Rebecca.

Please take the time to read this. This fundraiser is a long time coming. Beckey has struggled for many years in many ways. For once, she deserves a break.

My sister has been a champion for animal welfare since she was small, and was starting her young career when she became pregnant at 21 years old and had my nephew, Noah. His father walked away when he was 1 1/2, leaving her to care for Noah on her own (with extremely sparse and sporadic child support payments over his lifetime). In the meantime, she had developed several severe medical conditions, even landing her case in medical journals for their rarity. She has suffered surgeries, hospitalizations, and debilitating reactions to medications over the years. Soon after Noah's father left, she became unable to work and went on medical disability where she remains to this day. She struggles with the serious symptoms of Lupus, chronic and terminal nonalcoholic Liver Disease, Degenerative Disc Disease, Spinal Stenosis, Fibromyalgia and other autoimmune conditions.

My sister suffered through several abusive relationships. In the midst of one scary and physically/emotionally abusive relationship, she married a man in an attempt to lessen the abuse by bowing to his will. She became pregnant and, in the midst of her high risk pregnancy, the abuse escalated. This sociopathic man allegedly murdered her dog, frightened her son, controlled every aspect of her life, caused her bodily injury, demeaned and belittled her, kept her away from friends and family members, and both threatened and attempted to kill her. He threatened to kill her unborn child. She later found out he had been previously charged for attempting to kill another woman and his children had been removed from his care.

One violent night, police were called and her husband left the home for the final time, fleeing to another state in order to avoid warrants and child support payments. He called child services with a false report on her upon leaving (which was immediately dismissed upon investigation). Beckey later gave birth to Joshua and has raised him on her own ever since, managing his special needs with few resources. She has remained on disability and receives Medicaid. She had moved in with my mother for some support, but my mother suffered a catastrophic hemorrhagic stroke in 2018 and now must live in a long term care facility. My mother's medical bills decimated the family funds and left us all heartbroken and in the midst of ongoing grief.

My sister and 12 year old Joshua live on $787 per month (Noah is now 20 years old and out of the home). She is poor. She lives in chronic and often severe pain. She hobbles back and forth to doctors getting bloodwork and infusions in an unreliable vehicle. She does not have the funds to see the right doctors for her conditions; go to the therapists that she and her son need; fix basic things in the home, or serious things such as mold remediation; buy extras or often necessities. She does not have the funds to do things like fix her teeth, which were ruined from the times that her abuser punched her in the face.

Unsurprisingly, this has taken a toll on Beckey's mental and emotional health as well. Her severe and pervasive Post Traumatic Stress Disorder goes mostly untreated.

Beckey's husband never returned, never sought contact with her or their child, and never paid child support. She was glad to have him out of her life and especially out of Joshua's life- he never met him and they do not share a name. She looked into getting a divorce but since her husband could not be located, it would have cost thousands that she did not have. She was told that it was abandonment and truthfully, she felt safer that way. However, a couple months ago she became aware that the state social services had identified her husband's location and were going after him for the thousands of dollars in back child support payments, since they feel they have a vested interest in this due to helping to support my sister and her son for these years when he was not providing any support.

On October 6, 2021, in a thinly veiled attempt at revenge, Beckey received certified mail from her estranged husband's attorney on his behalf. He is filing for divorce, asking for "marital assets" that do not exist, asking that she refrain from "harassing" him, demanding that she pay all of his legal fees, and accusing her of several ridiculous "violations". Most horrifying to her, he is asking for a relationship with Joshua.

1) This man has never shown one ounce of interest in his son for 12+ years, other than to threaten to murder him.

2) It is documented in her case notes again and again that this man is never to be provided with her address or information about Joshua, due to the history of severe violence and risk to their lives and the subsequent restraining orders she has taken out on him. He is now in possession of this information.

3) Legal Aid, the service set up to help the poor and at risk in her county, cannot even consult with her until next year.

4) My sister has had zero contact with this man since 2009.

She has contacted an attorney who specializes in family law. Her initial consultation fee will be $150 for a half hour.

It cannot be overstated how unbelievably traumatizing this situation is for my sister. Her PTSD has been debilitating over the years, and the paralyzing fear that he could show up again, now aware of her location and her child's name, is devastating. The panic, sleeplessness, and nightmares have and will escalate. This man owns guns and knows how to use them. This man is a narcissist, a sociopath who does not think he can get caught. He is dangerous and she will not allow him access to her child.

Please, my sister needs help. We are doing our best but do not have the means to fully support what Beckey and Joshua need. All fundraiser contributions will go toward:

1) Legal fees

2) Medical fees

3) Household necessities to keep the home safe and healthy

I am grateful for anything you can do to help. Thank you.