LIMA — The first thing you notice when walking into Heather’s home is the modest Christmas tree in the corner of the living room.
It’s hard to miss the tree; it’s the only thing in the room. No chairs; no tables; no sofa. Nothing. Just a tree.
Heather and her three young children don’t have much as they prepare for their first Christmas in Ohio, but they have hope. Hope for a brighter future than the one they left behind in Alabama a few short months ago.
The family moved north to be closer to Heather’s grandfather, an Alabama native who now resides in Kentucky. He is battling cancer and cannot travel.
“I hadn’t seen him in 15 years, and he’d never seen my children,” said Heather. “But he told me never to move to Kentucky.”
Heather picked Lima as her family’s new home because it’s “kind of small, like where I’m from. It feels just like home.”
Except for winter weather that the Alabama native is not prepared for, that is.
“I need a coat; size XL,” Heather said with a laugh on a day when the season’s first snowflakes were falling.
She is renting a home and getting by with a borrowed stove and refrigerator. Laid off recently from a factory job, Heather is “trying to find something” in the way of permanent employment. “I’ve been finding temporary jobs that last long enough for me to pay the bills,” she said.
But the needs of the family are many.
“We have no furniture … period,” Heather said. “And the kids don’t have beds; they’re sleeping on air mattresses. We also have lots of summer clothes, but not a lot of winter clothes.”
Taylor, a 10-year-old girl, wears size 12 pants and shirts and a size 8 shoe. Casey, a 3-year-old boy, wears size 4T pants and shirts and children’s size 12 shoes. Kennedy, a 1-year-old girl, wears 3T clothing and size 8 toddler’s shoes.
“Whatever the community can do I would appreciate so much,” said Heather, who sports a friendly smile and a positive attitude. “It would be nice to have a table and chairs … so we can quit sitting on the floor.
“And some beds for the kids.”
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