Sadder than Sad

Today I learned of an impossibly sad situation being endured by a New Orleans family. If you are interested in doing something to help them, please contact me by e-mail (the address is hidden in my blog URL, at gmail; sorry for the roundabout way of putting it, but I don't want my mail box bombarded with spam from bots!) and I will email you the name and info for the person who is coordinating the drive to help this thrice-stricken family. I learned of them through a former high school classmate, now an attorney; the information came to her from a local judge.

(Names have all been changed.)
Lucy & Mike are the grandparents of Lincoln, 7th grade; Kerry, 5th grade; Bree, 3rd grade; and Honey, 1st grade.

The grandkids moved in with Lucy and Mike about 6 years ago after their father went to prison for stabbing their mother to death in front of Lincoln and his 3 little sisters. Their mother was actually holding Honey (who was a baby) when it happened. This changed the lives of Lucy and Mike greatly, because they then had to provide for 4 (emotionally scarred) children. Lincoln had to draw the murder weapon and testify against his father in court. After the father went to jail, his gang member friends threatened to kill the kids for turning in their dad. It was obviously hard on all of them, expecially Mike and Lucy, as they did not have much and they were grieving for their murdered daughter. Well, they eventually got back on their feet and were getting on with their lives when Katrina hit. The family's home in Ponchartrain Park was completely flooded and they lost everything they owned.

Now, over two years after Katrina, Lucy and Mike got their Road Home money and have been rebuilding their home themselves- all night long after Mike comes home from a long day at work doing manual labor. They have been working on the house everyday, excited about the possibility of finally moving home with their grandkids before Christmas, after being shuffled from place to place. This week they have been moving all of their belongings into the house. Almost everything they owned was in the new house except for their beds and mattresses. Last night, someone broke into the house and took everything. My mom is over there right now helping Lucy clean up the house because they ransacked/ trashed it in the process of taking everything.

This family now has nothing (again). This family has been through so many awful things. It breaks my heart to think about it.

If there is anything you can donate to help them, I would greatly appreciate it- and they would appreciate it even more. The family is very proud and has NEVER asked for anything. We just don't know how much more they can take. It would be wonderful if they could be in their home by Christmas.

Below is a list of things that they need.


The following things were stolen:

Kitchen
Toaster oven
Blender
Dishwasher

Bedrooms
Bree and Honey each have a twin bed. Lincoln and Kerry each have a queen bed. They have mattresses, but all of the bedding was stolen:

Pillows
Sheets
Comforters
Blankets
Almost all of Lincoln's clothes were stolen
Desks and chairs for the kids (they are all really good students- Lincoln has a full scholarship to St. Augustine for next year)

Tools
Mike was renovating the house himself and all of his tools were stolen, including the following:
Small generator
Compressor
Wet vac
Other tools

Other
Curtains
Chairs
Vacuum cleaner
They have no money for any Christmas presents/toys for the kids- they aren't even thinking about Christmas presents since they need the basics

What they DO have
(they have 1 sofa, a tv, mattresses, beds and a dining room table and chairs- that’s it)