After Mom Asks If It’s Illegal To Sleep In Parked Car With Her Twins, Police Sergeant Takes Action

Jan 18, 2023 by apost team

Being a parent is a big undertaking, and it's even more difficult when times are tough, especially financially. In hard times, adults might be lucky enough to have some family to help support them, but in other situations, they might not be so lucky. Unfortunately for a mother of twin girls in Michigan, she fell into the latter category. That is until her community gathered together and gave her the support she didn't have available to her.

The story from 2017 involved a compassionate police sergeant who made a huge difference in the lives of one single mom and her two twin daughters. Erin Harrison is the mother of two twin girls, Hayden and Abbigale. As WXYZ-TV Detroit reported, the family lived in the small city of Walled Lake, Michigan.

Sergeant Heather Kolke was just doing her job patrolling the city when Harrison approached her. Kolke told the news outlet, “She started asking me legal questions." It wasn't long before Harrison asked if it was legal for her to sleep in her car with her daughters. Clearly, this set off alarm bells in Kolke's head.

The police officer began asking questions to learn more about the family's situation. She then learned that Harrison had recently been evicted after not being able to keep up with her rent payments. She had been employed at a fast-food restaurant for four years, but the pay was not enough to keep up with the bills.

Harrison's story struck a chord with Kolke, who, as a mother herself, knew she had to do something to help.

Harrison was desperate, and she thought she could stay in her car with her girls until she was able to save up enough money in order for them to get back on their feet again. Until then, she planned on parking her car at Walled Lake Elementary School so that she could easily drop the kids off at school time.

As a fellow mother, Kolke wanted to do something to help them. She told the news outlet, "That's why I knew I had to at least, you know, get her a place to stay." So she sprung into action and even got the community involved. 

Kolke asked around for donations for the Harrison family in a bid to raise enough money to put them in a hotel and keep them off the streets. That Saturday also happened to be Hayden and Abbigale's 9th birthday, so Kolke also managed to raise some more funds so that the two girls could at least celebrate it properly.

The police officer's selfless motivation to help the Harrison family even inspired the mayor of Walled Lake to ask the community on the local news if they could come together to think of a long-term solution for them. A father happened to be watching the news with his children who asked if their family could also help in some way. The father, named Eddie Osram, is a local business owner who owns the Marathon store in the city. He told WXYZ-TV Detroit about his family wanting to help out:

"That's when I said, let me see what I can do." 

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Osram immediately phoned other local business owners to see if they could help, too. He told WXYZ-TV Detroit, "A bunch of them, they said 'whatever it takes.'" The community banded together to provide the family with clothes, household items, and more. In total, over $2,500 was raised, as well as one generous stranger who even offered to take the twins on a $1,000 shopping spree for new clothes and items they'll need when they find a new home.

One resident wanted to help as he had been in a similar situation himself while growing up. He told the local news station:

"I came from a similar situation and, I mean, without help I wouldn't be where I am today."

Meanwhile, Osram's children even wanted to donate their allowance savings to Harrison's twin girls, which totaled $341. Osram said:

"All of us whenever we need help, we unite to help each other."

The outpouring of support for Harrison from her community was so immense that she could hardly express her gratitude. She told the news outlet, "It melts my heart to know that there are people out there that care." She could not be more thankful for all of the generosity of her community, as she said she'd use the money to get her and her family into a home. She added:

"I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. It means the world to my girls to be able to get somewhere."

This story is a reminder of how we never really know someone else's situation and how a small gesture of kindness can add up to truly change someone's life. 

This story is sure to tug on the heartstrings and teach us about the power of a community working together toward a common cause. Have you ever witnessed people coming together to help someone in such a way? If this warmed your heart, then spread the message to as many friends and family as you can.