OVER $165,000 RAISED FOR SINGLE MOM WHO LEFT KIDS ALONE WHILE AT WORK
A 24-year-old mother, Shaina Bell, was arrested on two counts of child endangerment after leaving her kids, ages 10 and 3, in a motel room while she went to her job at Little Caesars.
When police arrived, she claimed she had someone checking on her children while she was gone every hour during her shift. “I had to go to work. My daughter decided that she wanted to stay here,” Bell told WKBN. “I felt that she was old enough to be able to stay here with her sister for a few hours because my job is right down the street.”
Bell pleaded not guilty to both counts. “My kids bring me joy. They make me laugh. They’re my world. I would never do anything to harm my kids. My kids are everything to me,” Bell told a local news channel. “That’s all I do is go to work and take care of my kids. That’s all I do.”
The Ohio mother received an outpouring of support on social media and GoFundMe. In addition to the financial support on GoFundMe, Quality Control Music Label co-founder Pierre “Pee” Thomas donated $10,000 to Bell’s campaign, and Cleveland Cavalier JaVale McGee also donated $5,000.
“Someone get me this young lady info,” Thomas commented on an Instagram post. “My mom used to have to do the same thing when we were young, not cause of abandonment issues, it’s because people can’t afford child care working at a pizza shop. She wasn’t hanging out at a club. She was at work.”
I started babysitting my siblings when I was 8, and in the neighborhood when I turned 10. This story infuriates me. She is doing what she can to keep her family intact and safe. If you feel compelled to donate: Help Shaina Bell Rebuild her Children's Life https://t.co/FaxjOXrszU
— MommaFinch64 (@MFinch64) February 17, 2021
As sad as it is, this is the reality for most black households. Many children in the Black community come from a single-parent home and are forced to be self-sufficient at a very young age. Our system is so backward that instead of offering this young mother help, they choose to make add a criminal record to her name. Throwing this young woman in jail who was trying to provide for her kids does not address the underlying issues of poverty.
Not only is this another flaw in our system, but we’re also in the middle of a pandemic where at least 2.3 million women have lost their jobs, many due to closed schools and no child care. Even before the pandemic, the lack of affordable child care is driving many women out of the workforce. In this woman’s case, it was a catch 22, damned if she did, damned if she didn’t.
Luckily, the children were reportedly turned over to their dad, but this could’ve been another case of lifelong devastation that occurs when children are separated from their parents and siblings. This young mother was just trying to provide for her children, and hopefully, she’ll be able to beat the charges in court.
