Anna’s story begins with a phone call to our offices. Anna is not her real name. She said she and her kids had not eaten in a few days so we told her to come anyway even though it was after hours. When she arrived in her beat up SUV we saw that she has been living in the car and her and her three kids looked like they had not had a bath in a week. As soon as we gave them food the children didn’t wait to open the peanut butter jar, cereal and chips we gave them. Like many living in their cars they cant cook and the only thing they can do is warm up something in the gas station microwaves.
We asked her how she got in such a predicament? Anna said that her husband beat her and she had gotten in the car in the middle of the night with the intention of going to her moms in another state. She ran out of gas near Jacksonville and has been living in different churches parking lots since then. She says she does her best to give each kid a bath in the service station bathrooms. She says she feels stuck and people really don’t care. We told Anna we hope to change her mind about humanity.
We told her to come back in the morning so she could do some housecleaning. We told her we would help her make the money to make it to her moms. When Anna and her kids arrived the next day we just gave her the 70 dollars she needed and sent her on her way. We pray she made it! We hope she was telling the truth! We hope those children grow up in a peaceful home and the present ordeal is put behind them.
So is the life in food crisis intervention. You help those you can expecting nothing in return but hoping you are making a difference.
(not actual name or picture)