You’re absolutely right—this should not be happening. No child should ever have to freeze to death because they don’t have shelter. It’s heartbreaking, enraging, and entirely preventable. We have the resources, but we lack the collective will to prioritize people over policy failures, over-profit, and over the comfort of looking away. This is why we must continue to fight, speak out, and push for change. Thank you for caring—it matters.
After watching this heart-wrenching video I apologized to God for our (and my) lack of compassion, for our complacency, for our actions and offers to help/correct AFTER the tragedy has occurred. This is so unacceptable for this to happen anywhere in our country. When we turn a blind eye, we should remember we could easily be the ones in that situation. Sending many prayers for this mother and her two remaining children. 🙏
Your words carry so much truth. This should never have happened, and yet, it did—because as a society, we have allowed complacency and reactive responses to replace proactive solutions. Compassion should not come only after tragedy; it should be embedded in the systems and policies that shape our communities.
You’re absolutely right that any of us could find ourselves in crisis. The line between stability and struggle is much thinner than most people realize—an unexpected medical bill, a job loss, a rent increase, or the loss of a support system can push people into circumstances they never imagined. That’s why we must commit not only to feeling deeply about these moments but also to working toward real change that prevents them from happening again.
Thank you for your prayers, and for acknowledging the need for action. I hope we can all continue moving from grief to tangible steps that ensure no family is ever left out in the cold again.
"The line between stability and struggle is much thinner than most people realize—an unexpected medical bill, a job loss, a rent increase, or the loss of a support system can push people into circumstances they never imagined."
There are too many people suffering, adults and children and sometimes, pets. There are compassionate people yet not near enough resources are available for most people or the conditions that accompany resources act as blocks to help.
I’m deeply sorry for your loss. Holding space for you here 🙏🏾
Losing a loved one in this way is heartbreaking and should never happen to anyone.
No one should ever have to suffer from exposure because they have nowhere to turn. Sending you strength as you navigate this grief and praying for your family.
I hear your frustration, and I feel it too. This should not still be happening. We live in a world with more than enough resources to ensure that no one is left out in the cold, yet we continue to fail those in need. Thank you for your compassion—holding onto that is how we fight for change 🙏🏾
Your comment is not only heartless and shallow, but it also reeks of racial bias and a complete disregard for the systemic failures that contributed to this tragedy. Blaming a mother who desperately sought help—only to be repeatedly turned away by a broken system—shows a complete lack of understanding of the realities of homelessness and poverty. The fact that you characterize her as a “loser” while ignoring the government and social services that failed her is telling.
Tateana Williams reached out for help multiple times, including contacting Detroit’s homeless response team, yet was denied shelter because there were no available beds. Shelters are often overcrowded, underfunded, and inaccessible, especially for families. Your assumption that she “chose” to let her children freeze dismisses the reality that she was forced into an impossible situation.
And let’s be clear: your outrage over her receiving housing assistance after her children died—rather than being furious that help was withheld when it could have saved them—shows exactly where your priorities lie. The real question here is why a mother had to lose her children before any real help was offered. Your comment reflects a dangerous, deeply flawed perspective that ignores the structural causes of homelessness and instead seeks to villainize those suffering the most. It’s not just ignorant—it’s inhumane.
I remember many years ago when I was young and fresh and I worked as Case Manager for a important and distinguished charity organization in Joliet, IL. One winter, and I remember perfectly it was the 24th of December (winter in IL is brutal, hard cold frost bite) one of the members that we provided with child care came asking for help. He was a very hard worker, but he had been released from work due to a reduction of personnel months before and he had been not able to get another job and his savings were exhausted. He came to ask for help because the heater of the small apartment where he lived with his wife and 2 small kids, suddenly stopped working.i talked with my supervisor which responded with the same standard answer: HE MUST CHECK WITH THE CITY AND THE LOCAL COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS! Believe or not, I called more than 50 city officials and also around 20 community organizations that boasted about their support of the people in need. Nobody helped or looked for a solution to this situation.All of those community organizations, charity offices are a lie, they don't do anything useful. The executives have great offices, big salaries but the services that they give to the community are minimal. Finally I called a friend of mine in Barrington , IL with had some money and she sent and electrician to Joliet and paid for the parts, etc. I continue working in the same sector, and I am appalled to find similar situations year after year. Great big offices, pompous titles, lavish benefits, poor service to the community. Now I live in West Palm Beach, where many of the richest people of the country have wonderful, big houses that they only use few days in the year. You go to the parks and they are full of homeless sleeping in tents. And the USA is the richest, more advanced country in this planet, where you can find the most abject misery.
This is heartbreaking and it absolutely should not be happening in America. Children freezing to death. Because they don’t have shelter.
You’re absolutely right—this should not be happening. No child should ever have to freeze to death because they don’t have shelter. It’s heartbreaking, enraging, and entirely preventable. We have the resources, but we lack the collective will to prioritize people over policy failures, over-profit, and over the comfort of looking away. This is why we must continue to fight, speak out, and push for change. Thank you for caring—it matters.
After watching this heart-wrenching video I apologized to God for our (and my) lack of compassion, for our complacency, for our actions and offers to help/correct AFTER the tragedy has occurred. This is so unacceptable for this to happen anywhere in our country. When we turn a blind eye, we should remember we could easily be the ones in that situation. Sending many prayers for this mother and her two remaining children. 🙏
Your words carry so much truth. This should never have happened, and yet, it did—because as a society, we have allowed complacency and reactive responses to replace proactive solutions. Compassion should not come only after tragedy; it should be embedded in the systems and policies that shape our communities.
You’re absolutely right that any of us could find ourselves in crisis. The line between stability and struggle is much thinner than most people realize—an unexpected medical bill, a job loss, a rent increase, or the loss of a support system can push people into circumstances they never imagined. That’s why we must commit not only to feeling deeply about these moments but also to working toward real change that prevents them from happening again.
Thank you for your prayers, and for acknowledging the need for action. I hope we can all continue moving from grief to tangible steps that ensure no family is ever left out in the cold again.
"The line between stability and struggle is much thinner than most people realize—an unexpected medical bill, a job loss, a rent increase, or the loss of a support system can push people into circumstances they never imagined."
There are too many people suffering, adults and children and sometimes, pets. There are compassionate people yet not near enough resources are available for most people or the conditions that accompany resources act as blocks to help.
I lost my cousin the same way in January 💔
I’m deeply sorry for your loss. Holding space for you here 🙏🏾
Losing a loved one in this way is heartbreaking and should never happen to anyone.
No one should ever have to suffer from exposure because they have nowhere to turn. Sending you strength as you navigate this grief and praying for your family.
I've been working through the anger and the senselessness. He had NOTHING and even that was taken from him
I’m so sorry Naomi!!!! THIS should not even be a thing anymore!!! Have we fallen so far that we can’t help people who are in need????
What the flying fuck man!!!!
I hope you and your family are coping the best you can….💙💙
I hear your frustration, and I feel it too. This should not still be happening. We live in a world with more than enough resources to ensure that no one is left out in the cold, yet we continue to fail those in need. Thank you for your compassion—holding onto that is how we fight for change 🙏🏾
Loser mother lets her children die in a cold van.
She doesn't take them to a shelter. She doesn't call an ambulance. She doesn't take them to the emergency room or a police station.
She lets them freeze to death in a van.
Instead of going to prison for child neglect, she 's rewarded a house!! Wow.
Your comment is not only heartless and shallow, but it also reeks of racial bias and a complete disregard for the systemic failures that contributed to this tragedy. Blaming a mother who desperately sought help—only to be repeatedly turned away by a broken system—shows a complete lack of understanding of the realities of homelessness and poverty. The fact that you characterize her as a “loser” while ignoring the government and social services that failed her is telling.
Tateana Williams reached out for help multiple times, including contacting Detroit’s homeless response team, yet was denied shelter because there were no available beds. Shelters are often overcrowded, underfunded, and inaccessible, especially for families. Your assumption that she “chose” to let her children freeze dismisses the reality that she was forced into an impossible situation.
And let’s be clear: your outrage over her receiving housing assistance after her children died—rather than being furious that help was withheld when it could have saved them—shows exactly where your priorities lie. The real question here is why a mother had to lose her children before any real help was offered. Your comment reflects a dangerous, deeply flawed perspective that ignores the structural causes of homelessness and instead seeks to villainize those suffering the most. It’s not just ignorant—it’s inhumane.
I remember many years ago when I was young and fresh and I worked as Case Manager for a important and distinguished charity organization in Joliet, IL. One winter, and I remember perfectly it was the 24th of December (winter in IL is brutal, hard cold frost bite) one of the members that we provided with child care came asking for help. He was a very hard worker, but he had been released from work due to a reduction of personnel months before and he had been not able to get another job and his savings were exhausted. He came to ask for help because the heater of the small apartment where he lived with his wife and 2 small kids, suddenly stopped working.i talked with my supervisor which responded with the same standard answer: HE MUST CHECK WITH THE CITY AND THE LOCAL COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS! Believe or not, I called more than 50 city officials and also around 20 community organizations that boasted about their support of the people in need. Nobody helped or looked for a solution to this situation.All of those community organizations, charity offices are a lie, they don't do anything useful. The executives have great offices, big salaries but the services that they give to the community are minimal. Finally I called a friend of mine in Barrington , IL with had some money and she sent and electrician to Joliet and paid for the parts, etc. I continue working in the same sector, and I am appalled to find similar situations year after year. Great big offices, pompous titles, lavish benefits, poor service to the community. Now I live in West Palm Beach, where many of the richest people of the country have wonderful, big houses that they only use few days in the year. You go to the parks and they are full of homeless sleeping in tents. And the USA is the richest, more advanced country in this planet, where you can find the most abject misery.