Tell us what you think of this article. Take a short survey.
Maryvale Precinct Officers donate gifts to deserving Grandmother raising her 6 Grandchildren
Each year the Phoenix Police Department’s Maryvale Precinct “adopts” a family in need from our community. Families are referred to the precinct through schools, churches, community organizations, and police officers that meet these individuals in the course of their regular patrol duties. The families are interviewed and the decision to help the family most in need is always a difficult one. This year’s Maryvale precinct family is the Johnsons - a single grandmother raising six grandchildren; ranging from ages 6 – 14 years old.
An officer recently interviewed Ms. Johnson in her home to learn more about her family and her needs. While the Johnson home is tidy, it was void of any children’s toys and most of the rooms were sparsely furnished. Ms. Johnson explained that she had recently moved to Phoenix after trying to rebuild her life for more than a year in Cedar Rapid, Iowa, following what was described as the 500 year flood in June of 2008. Ms. Johnson explained that she had believed her and her grandchildren would be able to weather the storm and remained in their home until the National Guard “came knocking on our door and told us we had to evacuate.” Ms. Johnson and her family lost everything and began the task of rebuilding in Cedar Rapid. Ms. Johnson said the task seemed overwhelming and she just felt everybody needed a new start. She wanted to move to a warmer climate and chose Phoenix saying California was out of the question because “I don’t like earthquakes either.”
Ms. Johnson said the family moved here with mostly just the clothes on their backs. She saves each month until she can afford to buy a bed for each child. She has managed to buy a mattress and box spring (no bed frame) for the 14 year old granddaughter, a mattress (no box spring or bed frame) for one of the boys and a set of bunk beds for two others. The two remaining boys sleep on air mattresses on the floor. None of the children’s rooms have any other furnishings and Ms. Johnson said it would be nice to have a dresser or two for the kids to put what little clothes they have away. Currently the clothes are kept folded on the closet floors. Ms. Johnson currently has one sofa and a dinette for her family.
Maryvale Precinct Officers have worked hard to provide the Johnson family with the many other items needed to furnish a home, and one of the officers entered the family in a “Furniture Giveaway” sweepstakes presented by Ashley Furniture, for which they were selected.