Please Help Single Mom & Four Kids.

"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing..." Psalm 68:5-6

Hi, my name is Kim Dent and I am fundraising for a dear friend and hard-working single mom, Shaterra Tillman and her family. Shaterra is working diligently to care for her four kids, who range in age from 19 to 10.

The backstory...

I met Shaterra while working as a teacher's aide in her classroom. As a former child protective case worker, I saw through this rough, angry 10-year-old to the truth. She was simply a hurting little girl with a tough home life, doing the best she could to protect herself in a world where she felt very much on her own. A child who desperately needed someone to care. Someone to be in her corner.

Over the past 25 years, the bond we forged at that school in Canton, OH. has remained. As a young teen, She reached out to me for support when she became pregnant after being coerced by an adult perpetrator. When her daughter was born, her family began to deteriorate. Within a year, 16-year-old Shaterra and her baby found themselves homeless. They navigated the next several years through YMCA homeless shelters, foster care, local church families and finally PAL mission. (Preparation for Adult Living)

I've had the privilege of walking with this resilient young woman through victories and heartbreaks. She earned her GED, secured assistance for housing and food and moved into her first apartment. She got a min wage job and met a man who would father her youngest 3 children. Gifted as a singer, she tried out for American Idol, using donated funds from her supporters at work to travel to complete. She is raising four beautiful, smart and compassionate children who share her musical gifting. Sadly, the father deserted the family a few years after creating it. Leaving Shaterra and the children alone to fend for themselves. This is a tragic story and Shaterra is not alone. Fatherlessness is rampant in our country and too many struggling families like Shaterra's end up homeless and hopeless all for lack of a support system and caring people to lend a hand up during hard times.

I have watched this brave woman get knocked down and get back up more times than I can count. Never complaining or begrudging anyone, she simply presses on. She has always had a dream to be able to provide unconditional love, security and direction for her children. To provide a safe and stable home life for them. Things she never had as a child. By God's grace and her tenacity and against all odds, she is proving that this dream is possible. Her oldest daughter graduated with honors from HS and received a scholarship to college where she holds an honors GPA and works as a resident advisor in her dorm. Her younger children are thriving in their schools as Shaterra works long hours to pay the bills and make a home for them as best she can. But behind the smiles of her children, it is getting more and more difficult for the family to get by on her one income. Just last week her water was turned off. She told me her one fear was that her kids would come home from school to a house without water or heat or food. Thankfully she was able to find funds from a compassionate friend and got the water turned back on before the kids got home. Now she is struggling to be able to keep her car from being repossessed as she has had to choose between paying rent, car payment or buying groceries with her limited funds. For Shaterra and many single moms like her, every month is a juggling act to keep their heads above water financially. Can you imagine the stress of wondering if today is the day you lose your housing, your vehicle, the water or heat...can you imagine what it would be like to look at your children and tell them there is no food for dinner tonight?

Shaterra is grateful for the help she received in the past from health and human services. But landing her current job has enabled Shaterra to understand that she has gifts and talents that are helpful and valuable to a company. She is good at what she does. Getting a paycheck that she has earned has given her a newfound dream of being able to one day provide a permanent home for her family and not have to live paycheck to paycheck. However, this high school graduate-level pay is not adequate to cover the living expenses of a family of 5 with one income. The family has been struggling to make ends meet, often going without groceries and other necessities. Her subsidized rent shot up from $350 to $1,000.00 a month when she got her job. Her income, though not enough to cover the family's expenses, put her just over the eligibility limit for utility and food stamp assistance. This, along with an unexpected 10,000. 25% wage garnishment of her already meager salary has made it extremely difficult to keep food on the table or shoes and clothing on four growing kids.

The garnishment is for a prior used car loan Shaterra and the father of the younger 3 children acquired years ago. One day the car wouldn't start and Shaterra could not get her kids to daycare so was fired for missing work. Months of not being able to find another job with hours that would allow her to get her kids off to school in the morning gave her no choice but to allow the car to be repossessed.

The absent father has never paid support and continues to live on government assistance. Thus, the remainder of the defaulted car loan falls completely on Shaterra along with other debt their family had incurred during the time he lived in the home.

But this doesn't have to be the end of the story!

You and I can help this family become financially independent and become a family that can reach out and help others. Shaterra's faithful love and tenacity to provide and sacrifice for her children are showing great dividends in her compassionate and resilient kids but she is getting weary of the fight. You and I can offer support and encouragement and help them move through this dark valley. Please encourage them with your prayerful and generous donation today. Please share this with your employer, your church group, your book club and your friends and families. Even a small donation, added to others makes a difference. Organize your office and donate as a group. Together we can impact the outcome of these precious lives. This is a family that deserves and appreciates our support. They are the type that will, no doubt, give back to their community and pay it forward once they get on solid ground.

How Will Your Donations Be Used?

I am praying that, together, we can raise enough to help this family on their road to becoming financially independent. These Funds will help Shaterra to keep the job that is giving her purpose and provide a bridge of support until she can acquire higher education. She desperately wants to pay her way and not have to rely on welfare. But she finds herself in a very tenuous place in which something has to give. She needs a higher-paying job that requires additional skills and education.

Without our assistance, she will have no choice but to relinquish her job and slip back into the welfare system. But we can help this deserving family push through to financial freedom. They just need some support to transition. Every dollar will help.

Your donations will help:

1. Supplement current income, and provide a safety net so the family can buy groceries and clothing and pay off debt.

2. Build a housing fund - to help this family move to more affordable housing.

3. Grow an education fund - Shaterra is a bright and capable student who would love to obtain higher education to qualify for positions that can support a family of 5 on one income. Your donations are so appreciated but please join me in praying for Shaterra and her kids. Every time you turn on the water, adjust your thermostat or pay for your groceries, please remember Shaterra and other families like hers.

God bless you and thank you for caring, donating, and sharing this post far and wide. Thank you also for PRAYING along the lines of psalm 68...God will be a father to this fatherless family, He will put them in a vibrant church family where they will find joy and purpose and support and He will lead them out of the financial prison they are in...with great joy and singing. Thanks to your generosity.

We have been invited to be Christ's hands and feet. What an honor to link arms with you. Thank you for caring and sharing.

Much love and appreciation,

Kim Dent

Fort Mill, SC

PS: If you reside in Canton, OH (Canton south area) and are part of a church community that has the heart for outreach, please let me know. Praying for God to provide a church home for them as well.