Church: Jaycee Dugard needs money

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DANVILLE, Calif., Feb. 6 (UPI) -- A California church is raising money to help house Jaycee Dugard and the two children she had by the man who kidnapped her.

Mari Hanes, associate pastor of East Bay Fellowship in Danville, said the church learned Dugard had financial problems from a police officer who belongs to the church.

Hanes said Dugard's rent has been paid for the last four months by donations from members.

Dugard and her daughters are living in a house in a rural area not far from Antioch, the town where she allegedly spent 18 years imprisoned by Philip and Nancy Garrido. Dugard vanished in 1991 at the age of 11 as she walked to school in South Lake Tahoe, Calif.

Hanes said people might think Dugard is making money off her notoriety, but she has only received small sums for some interviews and from a state fund for victim compensation. The rent on her house, selected by police to allow her to live quietly with her children is $2,500 a month.