Two children recently froze to death in a vehicle outside of a Detroit casino. According to the Associated Press, local police confirmed the kids had been living in the vehicle with their family and moving around when possible.
More Details About Tragic Incident
For context, there were three other children and two adults, including their mother, staying inside the vehicle amid below-freezing temperatures. Only a 9-year-old boy and a 2-year-old girl died from the cold exposure inside the casino’s parking garage. Police Chief Todd Bettison said the family had been living out of the vehicle for two to three months and sometimes chose to park at casinos for safety and access to restrooms. The boy and girl passed away after the family’s van had stopped running overnight and couldn’t produce heat.
Detroit Mayor Says Mother Sought Housing Help Before Kids’ Death
The children’s mother had contacted City Hall on November 25, seeking help with housing. However, 24 hours after the recent deaths, Mayor Mike Duggan revealed that the housing issue was never resolved. Additionally, the mayor seemed to indicate that there was a lack of communication on both ends.
“For whatever reason, this wasn’t deemed an emergency that caused an outreach worker to visit the family. … As far as we’ve been able to determine so far, the family never called back again for service,” Duggan said. “And as far as we’ve been able to tell, our homeless staff never proactively reached out to say, ‘What happened with your situation? Was it resolved?'”
At the press conference, Mayor Duggan revealed that a family shelter with available beds was “just a few miles away” from the casino. He also assured Detroit residents that the city has 1,400 open beds and a helpline for people seeking shelter.
“The shortest way for somebody in an emergency is go to a police precinct. They will navigate the process and get you to a shelter,” Mayor Duggan said.
In response to the incident, Duggan gave his staff two weeks to review the family’s history of contact with the city. “It’s a terrible day in Detroit,” the mayor also said.
Associated Press reporter Ed White contributed to this report.
The post Prayers Up! Two Detroit Kids Pass Away In Cold Car After Months Without A Stable Home appeared first on The Shade Room.
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