We got a phone call a couple days ago. A mother who had lost her home her husband and everything else. except her two children. One was 10 the other was just about to start college. She wondered if we could help. She wanted us to take care of the daughter. Instead we told her we would take care of both her and her daughter until she was able to do it on her own again.
Part of what we try to be careful is not spliting up homes. We get calls all the time from parents that want to give us thier children to take care of. We tell them that instead we'll teach them how to take care of them. Teach them a skill find them a job. They seldom take us up on the idea. Generally it seems they just want to escape the responsibility.
This time we were taken up on the offer. Un expectantly. She arrived one evening child in tow. With a bag of clothes. Well we had no beds (still need to build the bunk beds). So we scrambled around got things setup she would have to sleep on the floor the first night but that was still better then the alternative of sleeping in the dirt.
A couple days went by and things seemed to be going ok. Then one day she got her things together and said that her elder son was in the hospital and she needed to see him. She left without much more information. A couple days latter we recieved word via a message she sent that she would be staying with her son and thats the last we heard from her. We suspect it was her plan all along to abandon her daughter but she knew we'd say no if she just asked up front.
We've been asked how do we keep people from taking advantage of us. Well in short we don't people take advantage of us all the time. But then again how do you take advantage of someone thats only desire is to help you however they can. Hopefully one day she'll show back up not that we really mind her daughter she is quiet and articulate. Very intelligent and speaks clear english. But unless mom returns her daughter is bound to ask for the rest of her life why did mom abandon me?