Latest news with #CoordinatedAssistanceModel
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Yahoo
Finally, Good News for Homeless Detroit Mother Whose Children Froze to Death
A lot of us were left wondering what the next steps were for the homeless woman in Detroit who lost two of her children to freezing temperatures. Luckily, some locals with very big hearts have vowed to step in and help. As The Root previously reported, 29-year-old Tateona Williams told FOX 2 Detroit she and her five kids had been sleeping in a minivan for months as she tried endlessly to seek shelter. She sought help from Detroit's Coordinated Assistance Model, homeless solutions agencies, hotels and even the childrens' own father but to no avail. On the night of Feb. 10, as she and her family slept, she told reporters the car's heat stopped working, leaving them in below-freezing temperatures. When she woke, she said her 2-year-old and 9-year-old were not breathing. They were later pronounced dead at the hospital. Though their cause of death is still being investigated, Detroit police suspect the children died due to being exposed to the freezing cold. Thursday, little Darnell Currie Jr. and A'millah Currie were laid to rest, according to The Detroit Free Press. The New McFall Brothers Funeral Home offered to provide funeral services for the family for free, the report says. However, despite the tragedy, Williams received news that may ensure the rest of her children survive this winter and possibly the next. Deputy Mayor Melia Howard stated a local group came forward vowing to pay rent for a whole year to ensure Williams and her remaining children have housing, per MLive. She said the city's housing and revitalization department is working to secure housing for Williams, projecting their move in for as soon as this weekend. 'It's just important for me to let them know that we're not just here for today. We're going to be with them as long as they need us,' Howard said at the funeral home via The Detroit News, with tears in her eyes. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Yahoo
Prepare to Cry: Detroit Mom Says The City Rebuffed Her As She Tried to Shield Her Babies From Freezing Weather
A Detroit mother of two is distraught after having to make arrangements to bury her children after they died from something that was preventable in America. In fact, the mother claims she sought city assistance to save their life but to no avail. Tateona Williams, 29, told FOX 2 Detroit with tears down her face that she and her five kids were sleeping in a 2002 Chrysler Town and Country minivan earlier this month when tragedy struck. The report says she resorted to the vehicle for shelter for the past three months after being unable to receive help from Detroit's Coordinated Assistance Model. The agency is a referral system to help unhoused people find 'fair and equitable way to housing,' per the website. She also tried the city's homeless solutions agency, hotels and other acquaintances. However, her efforts were unsuccessful and with a brutal winter approaching, her options were running out. 'And every time I call they said they don't have a bed, they don't have family beds,' she said via FOX, adding that the number of children led her to be turned away. She said she also tried contacting her children's father, Darnell Currie Sr., but he allegedly gave her an excuse as to why he couldn't house the children. Despite her claims, Currie gave a tearful interview to WXYZ explaining that he was only asked to watch his kids but was never told why or the fact they were homeless. 'She just asked can I get 'em for a couple days, but I told her I'm working and all that and I'm out here. We're not close to each other. So, I couldn't, but she knows all my family is right around the corner from her,' said Currie to ABC 7 News. Unfortunately, Williams' efforts to save her children herself came at a heartbreaking cost. Williams told local reporters Sunday evening, the van had run out of gas and turned off at some point as the family slept. When she woke up Monday morning, she discovered her 2-year-old and 9-year-old were not breathing. The two children were pronounced dead at the hospital. The report says a medical examiner is still determining their cause of death but police suspect freezing temperatures contributed to the incident. Weather reports say Sunday evening's forecast was a low of 22 degrees. Mayor Mike Duggan called for a review of the Detroit outreach program for homelessness after discovering Williams' story. He said in a press conference that just down the road, a shelter with available beds was open but with a lack of outreach teams, it was likely no one could connect Williams to the facility. The mayor's review will take two weeks to complete, per the report. In the meantime, Williams' family organized a GoFundMe to help the mother get on her feet and preserve the lives of her remaining children. It's unclear where she is taking shelter now. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Yahoo
Mom of Detroit kids who froze to death said she asked for help from city, children's father
The Brief The mother of two kids who died from suspect hypothermia while sleeping in a van in Detroit Sunday night said she tried her hardest to care for her kids Tateona Williams reached out to the city for help, as well as the father of the kids who would later die - but never received assistance A gofundme was set up to help the Detroit mom while the city is reviewing its homeless outreach strategy (FOX 2) - Less than three days have passed since a Detroit mother experienced a heartbreaking tragedy when two of her children died from apparent hypothermia during a freezing night in the city. While the mayor is looking to overhaul the city's homeless services department, the 29-year-old mother is reeling from what she says was the one mistake she made and the painful consequences that followed. What they're saying Tateona Williams says she did everything in her power to keep her kids safe and anyone familiar with her knows the kind of mother she is. "Everybody who knows me knows that I worship the ground that those kids walked on," he said, tears rolling down her face. Her children ate right. They went to school. According to her mom, they "didn't want for nothing." "I had one mistake," she then said. A day earlier, her cousin Javeina Moore told FOX 2 that her only mistake was having too much pride to ask for help. And yet, Williams had reached out for assistance. If it wasn't the city that she had phoned, it was her children's father. "He had an excuse every time. Either he's working, they can't come where he's living, he lives with a female, and the parents don't want kids there, or something," Williams said. "Maybe I asked the wrong people for help, but that was the only thing I did wrong." When she called the Detroit's homeless solutions agency, another unhelpful reply was waiting for her. "And every time I call they said they don't a bed, they don't have family beds," she said. The last time she phoned the city was in November. But long before that, she had joined Detroit's Coordinated Assistance Model (CAM) that helps connect struggling citizens with support services like housing and treatment. Nothing came of her efforts, leading to a freezing night for herself, her mother, and her five kids sleeping in a 2002 Chrysler Town & country minivan. They had been living out of the van since November. Dig deeper Williams first discovered one of her kids was not breathing Monday morning. The van had run out of gas and turned off sometime in the night, leading to lethal temperatures inside the vehicle and the mom's tragic discovery. As a family member transported the child to the hospital, they got a phone call that another kid was also not breathing. Both the 2-year-old and 9-year-old were pronounced dead at the hospital. The medical examiner will officially determine the cause of death during an autopsy, but police pointed to freezing temperatures as the primary cause. The next day, the Mayor Mike Duggan and interim police chief Todd Bettison held a press conference, calling for a review of Detroit's homeless outreach program within the Department of Housing Revitalization and Development. Duggan said it was likely they would expand the number of visits Detroit's outreach team conducts to homeless family members. That's because while Williams and her kids were sleeping in a van on the ninth floor of a casino parking structure, a shelter with available beds was open just down the road. "We have to put eyes on these families experiencing homelessness with our professional outreach workers. We have to get them physically there and get an immediate, response," said Duggan on Tuesday. He called on HRD's director and deputy mayor to return in two weeks with a full review of its outreach. What you can do As the city works on reforming its own strategy, Williams and her kids are working through the tragedy that is only a few days old. Her cousin is hoping to help, setting up a gofundme. "And that's one of the reasons we did set the GoFundMe up so she can have - so she will be able to have housing for herself and the children, her other remaining children," said Javeina Moorer, Williams' cousin. The link can be found here. The Source Information from family and the city of Detroit was used while reporting this story.
