Derek: A Dad Whose Cry for Help was Answered
The sight of a man pushing a baby carriage around our Men’s Shelter raises a few eyebrows, but Derek doesn’t care. With his baby girl so fragile from sickle-cell anemia, his only focus in life is finding a stable, new home and getting his two older daughters back. In the meantime, he’s just glad to have a safe place to stay.
Hard Knocks
Derek is used to adversity. “I grew up in one of the worst ghettos in the US,” he says. His father wanted nothing to do with Derek and his two siblings. At 17, he was mistaken for someone else and shot three times. He couldn’t move his arm for the next two years, but he still managed to graduate from high school.
Derek was married for 18 years before his wife left him with their two, young, adopted daughters. “So there I am a single dad with two girls and I didn’t know how to do it,” but he learned. In fact, he even opened a daycare center so he could make a living and still be with his children!
As the girls neared their teens, Derek closed the daycare and started a carpet cleaning business. Money was tight, but he bought a house on a low-interest loan, and the family seemed secure. He and his girlfriend even had a baby girl.
But his girlfriend became violent towards Derek and the children and had to be jailed. Then the interest rates soared and Derek couldn’t afford his house payments. Just that quickly, Derek and the three girls were homeless, in the dead of winter.
Safe Haven
We were so glad to offer Derek a place in our new “men with families” room!
Although his older girls had to be sent to a church youth shelter, and the separation was painful, Derek remains grateful every day for the caring environment surrounding his baby daughter. “We had to be in the hospital for three days, and [the staff] would call to check up on us. That showed they care. If they see you want the help, they’ll go to bat for you.
“This place is run wonderful,” he says sincerely. And because of compassionate partners like you, “They give me everything that I ask for. I don’t have to buy diapers or wipes. They give my daughter juice, everything.”
We’ve networked with other agencies to help the whole family find stable housing and get Derek working again. “We’re strong,” he says. “We’ll come out of this.” Then he adds with tears in his eyes, “I’m just a dad and I’m crying out for help. [People say] men don’t care about their kids. I love my kids. I don’t want to be like my father. I’m breaking the chain in my family. At least when I die they can say, ‘He took care of his kids.’”
All Derek needs is a “hand up” to help his family recover from a very tough time, and that’s just what you’ve provided through your generous prayers and gifts. Thank you for making a difference to whole families!
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