Please help Laurie and family!

Dear friends, please take 3 minutes to read through this post that is so incredibly dear to my heart.  This is my friend Laurie and her 4 beautiful children. She is a SURVIVOR. I have known Laurie for almost 10 years.  Unbeknownst to me, she was in an incredibly violent, horrific marriage. I also knew her husband, who is thankfully behind bars for several years because of the atrocities he committed against her and each child.  They have suffered broken bones, countless deep bruises, broken teeth, they have been choked, kicked in the head, sexually molested, bitten, punched, (countless other things happened but I want to speak in generalities) and lived in perpetual terror.  Two years ago she courageously took the steps to leave and protect her children.  I watched her go into hiding in hotels under an alias because he would call each hotel in the cities asking for her room, she had to switch vehicles with neighbors just to go to work while separated from him.  One morning she woke up to him in her bedroom whispering in her ear after he had broken into the house.  She called the county and figured out a program that she qualified for that would install a security system at a deeply discounted rate.   He made so many terroristic threats and became so angry that she and the children were granted 50 YEAR Orders for protection against him.  Several other people also have orders for protection against him including his own family members. I’m saying this because she has worked tirelessly to support her children. They all need psychological care after suffering decades of abuse of this caliber.  I always wondered how Laurie managed. She could make $5 stretch to $100.  She knows every coupon, every deal there is to be had to make her limited budget work and try to provide a somewhat normal childhood for her children.  Whenever I asked her or said, “I don’t know how you do this”, she ALWAYS said “It’s God providing, not me, he’s getting me through, he’s making a way.”

Last night for the first time EVER she shared with me that the walls are closing in financially.  Her house needs repairs, her car is in the shop for repairs, her very small rental property has mold in it and she can’t rent it out until it’s fixed, she has medical bills piling up because of the therapy the family is doing, and she is having to go to the food shelf to put food on the table. The food shelf, by the way, provides food for a week but you can only come once a month!  She doesn’t know how she’s going to buy pants for the boys and she said she was thankful the Minnesota weather was holding so they could still wear shorts. You guys, its highs in the 50’s this week!! She cannot work two jobs right now, her middle school age boys need a parent at home in the evening to shuttle to appointments, keep the peace, feed and help with homework.  I want to do something to help Laurie. She has literally escaped a nightmare. She always has a positive and determined attitude towards providing and helping her children.  She works harder than anyone I know!  If you could donate even $1 or $5 every single dollar raised will help her and her children.  Also, please pray for her and share this page if you are inclined to do so. I would love to see this go viral for such a worthy cause!    Thank you for taking the time to read this and I am hopeful we can help.