The Faith Freedom Fund
Donation protected
My favorite cousin and the person in my family who is most ride or die for me, is going through an ugly divorce.
Faith* is one of the hardest working, biggest hearted people I know. She has two wonderful boys, to whom she has basically been a single parent since the moment they were born. Throughout the last year and a half of her marriage, she worked three jobs while her husband, Mark*, who was laid off, locked himself in his room and played video games.
Faith also took on the day-to-day household needs like driving the boys to and from school and daycare. (Yes, even without a job or actively looking for one, Mark refused to care for their baby at home.) Faith fed him and the children, helped the boys with their homework, bathed them and put them to bed.
Their older son, Evan*, is terrified of Mark, and with good reason. Whenever Mark interacts with him, it’s to shout at him, and to point out everything he’s done wrong. I’ve never heard him speak to Evan* in a normal tone of voice, nor say anything warm or encouraging.
It was this, more than anything—more than the lack of any type of intimacy in their marriage, more than how Mark forced Faith to do almost everything that needed doing in running a household and raising a family—that forced Faith to make the difficult choice to end her marriage.
Faith is in the process of divorcing Mark, and he has been as hateful as possible at every turn. He has harassed Faith and members of her family to the extent that it is interfering with Faith’s job. He has filed multiple false reports to the police and the DCFS alleging Faith has abused the children. (Faith is in the process of having Mark charged with filing false reports, which is a crime, but there’s a lot of red tape.) Faith continues to be 100% responsible for her boys in every way, and, until the past few months when she and the boys left Mark’s house, she was paying all of Mark’s bills, too. He has promised to pay for half of certain aspects of the children’s care, but has yet to send her a dime.
Divorce is expensive. Faith has already spent more than $4,000 on a lawyer, and they have not stepped foot inside a courtroom. She is doing her best, but you can’t bleed a stone, and she needs financial help to ensure that the divorce is finalized and her children’s needs will be addressed by the court. We don’t have a lot of money in our family, and both our relatives and the culture in which she lives frown on divorce; getting money from family is a hard sell in a limited pool.
I would do anything to help my dear cousin, this wonderful, wonderful woman who desperately needs a break, but I don't have much money, either, so I'm reaching out to you. A group of multifandom authors and artists are taking commissions in exchange for donations at @freefaith on Tumblr. If you'd like to offer your services, please message me there. If not, there are ways you can help. Every donation helps, and signal boosting discreetly (we don't want Faith's business everywhere, or for this to get back to Mark while they're still an open case) is a helpful, simple thing you can do. Thank you so much.
*names used for legal reasons
Faith* is one of the hardest working, biggest hearted people I know. She has two wonderful boys, to whom she has basically been a single parent since the moment they were born. Throughout the last year and a half of her marriage, she worked three jobs while her husband, Mark*, who was laid off, locked himself in his room and played video games.
Faith also took on the day-to-day household needs like driving the boys to and from school and daycare. (Yes, even without a job or actively looking for one, Mark refused to care for their baby at home.) Faith fed him and the children, helped the boys with their homework, bathed them and put them to bed.
Their older son, Evan*, is terrified of Mark, and with good reason. Whenever Mark interacts with him, it’s to shout at him, and to point out everything he’s done wrong. I’ve never heard him speak to Evan* in a normal tone of voice, nor say anything warm or encouraging.
It was this, more than anything—more than the lack of any type of intimacy in their marriage, more than how Mark forced Faith to do almost everything that needed doing in running a household and raising a family—that forced Faith to make the difficult choice to end her marriage.
Faith is in the process of divorcing Mark, and he has been as hateful as possible at every turn. He has harassed Faith and members of her family to the extent that it is interfering with Faith’s job. He has filed multiple false reports to the police and the DCFS alleging Faith has abused the children. (Faith is in the process of having Mark charged with filing false reports, which is a crime, but there’s a lot of red tape.) Faith continues to be 100% responsible for her boys in every way, and, until the past few months when she and the boys left Mark’s house, she was paying all of Mark’s bills, too. He has promised to pay for half of certain aspects of the children’s care, but has yet to send her a dime.
Divorce is expensive. Faith has already spent more than $4,000 on a lawyer, and they have not stepped foot inside a courtroom. She is doing her best, but you can’t bleed a stone, and she needs financial help to ensure that the divorce is finalized and her children’s needs will be addressed by the court. We don’t have a lot of money in our family, and both our relatives and the culture in which she lives frown on divorce; getting money from family is a hard sell in a limited pool.
I would do anything to help my dear cousin, this wonderful, wonderful woman who desperately needs a break, but I don't have much money, either, so I'm reaching out to you. A group of multifandom authors and artists are taking commissions in exchange for donations at @freefaith on Tumblr. If you'd like to offer your services, please message me there. If not, there are ways you can help. Every donation helps, and signal boosting discreetly (we don't want Faith's business everywhere, or for this to get back to Mark while they're still an open case) is a helpful, simple thing you can do. Thank you so much.
*names used for legal reasons
Fundraising team (2)
Lynndiana Jones
Organizer
Knoxville, TN
MJ Minefield
Team member
