FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Two Broward Sheriff’s Office Deputies went above and beyond when they saw a homeless mother and her 6-year-old child sleeping in their car.
The South Florida mom feels grateful and in awe how life sometimes works itself out.
“I never thought my life would change that rapidly,” she said.
A domestic dispute earlier this month left the woman, who we will call Tatiana, homeless. She’s asked us to not to identify her or her son.
“I had no where to go,” she said.
With nowhere to go and no one to call, she drove herself and her 6-year-old to her Lauderdale Lakes bank to sleep in the parking lot.
Tatiana said, “I see two cops pull up. I didn’t get out of the car because I didn’t know what was going on.”
Those cops, BSO deputies Robert Blanding and Eric Reyes responded to a call about a suspicious car.
Deputy Eric Reyes said, “She was visibly distraught.”
Tatiana said, “I’m telling them I’m homeless.”
Reyes said, “Me and my partner looked at each other, and it was an immediate tug on our heart.”
Reyes and Blanding put Tatiana and her son up at a nearby hotel for a week, but they knew that wasn’t enough.
Aisle by aisle they went buying food and snacks at a Lauderdale Lakes Walmart, even delivering the groceries to her hotel.
Reyes said, “We got her on the phone on speaker and walked aisle to aisle.”
Reyes said, “Sometimes you have to show compassion.”
Blanding said, “Everyone falls on tough times. We all have a story. We all go through things in life. You’ve just got to be humble.”
Tatiana said, “I was shocked, they cared about my son and I being on the streets.”
Reyes said, “We’re here to help in any way. Don’t be ashamed to reach out to law enforcement.”
In the meantime, Tatiana is waiting on the results from a COVID-19 test before she and her son can move into a homeless assistance program.
Tatiana’s hotel stay is set to expire on Sunday.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help extend her stay. If you would like to help, click here.
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