Friends and family members of Army Pvt. Chelsea Manning launched a crowdfunding campaign on her behalf Tuesday as the WikiLeaks source prepares for life after prison.

A “Welcome Home Fund” established for the soldier this week aims to raise $100,000 to go towards various living expenses she’ll likely incur upon being released from prison this spring after serving seven years of a 35-year prison sentence for espionage and other charges related to her unauthorized disclosure of documents to WikiLeaks.

“The majority of Chelsea’s adult life has been spent under the control of powerful institutions. Upon her release she will need logistical, emotional and financial support to safely transition into the free world,” the fundraising page states in part. “For the first time in her life, Chelsea will have the opportunity to live freely as her authentic self, to grow her hair, engage with her friends, and build her own networks of love and support. We want her to have the tools to do that and to overcome the years of abuse she has experience in custody.”

Contributions made toward the fund be used to pay for rent, utilities, health care, clothing and other living expenses during Manning’s first year of freedom, according to the website. Nearly 400 individuals donors had contributed over $17,000 to the fund as of Wednesday morning, less than 18 hours after the crowdfunding campaign was first launched.

Manning, 29, served as an Army intelligence analyst in the Iraq War prior to being arrested in 2010 and charged with supplying the WikiLeaks website with hundreds of thousands of sensitive military and diplomatic documents obtained from Defense and State Department computer systems during her deployment. She was convicted of espionage, theft and other charges related to the leaks in 2013 and subsequently sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Manning came out as a transgender a day after her sentencing, and successfully sued the Pentagon afterwards in order to receive hormone replacement therapy and related treatment while serving time at an all-male military prison.

Former President Barack Obama commuted the remainder of Manning’s sentence prior to leaving office last month. As a consequence, however, she’ll be dishonorably discharged from the Army and no longer entitled to government-funded health care through the Veteran Affairs Department after being released from prison May 17.

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