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[swanbait]

Tonight I was downtown (or as Chicagoans say "in the Loop"), at school. Working in the sound lab and doing my radio show. I stopped by the grocery store on the way home to grab something to eat when I got home. It was freezing out. Below freezing

Comments

[deathandthegirl]

God, I'm so glad you were around. Poor kids, I hope they'll be okay.

[deathandthegirl]

You know, more I thought about this, the sadder I felt. I thought about them when I woke up this morning. Why were they outside in the first place? How could anyone, as a parent, not be aware of where their children are on a freezing night in the middle of a city? It's so very terrible. And it's not reassuring to think that if I had small children, this wouldn't happen to them, because it still happens to others.

I really am glad you were there to help.

[swanbait]

I'm glad that I was too.

I think what happened was that the parents were fighting and went outside and the boy thought the parents were leaving, so he grabbed his baby sister and ran after them. I'm really not sure. I just know that the parents were too busy fighting (and in the dad's case, drinking) to pay attention to their kids at 11:30 at night.

The boy was smart. I think he knew that talking to me was the only way to get someone to pay attention to his family. He didn't ask me to help him find his phone, he asked for help. And he got it. So I guess I did my job.

[sayurixxvii]

It was actually better that I wasn't there probably. I would maybe not have been so calm and I am sure it would have been my instinct to ask to hold the baby to warm her. But I know that's not what you want to do in that situation. I would have fought my heart to take them home and make them cocoa and cookies and wrap them in blankets.
Upon sight, I would have interrogated (verbally attacked) the mother. Oh my god...I hope she's investigated. I'm sure she feels like shit. Maybe that's punishment enough. Doubt it. I am going to find out what house it is and listen for yells as I walk by with my phone in my hand ready to dial 911.

[swanbait]

I think the parents got looked over. I didn't get into much with the police, and didn't want to waste any time as I knew they needed to get inside to talk to the mother. I wish I would have had a chance to tell them everything that Jerry had told me, but I also knew from talking to them that he would tell them what he told me. He knew that his family needed help. The police were going to visit the home and weren't brushing it off. So I have to just trust that it got figured out as much as it possibly could.

[charmed_art]

As a parent myself (albeit not a drunk one, nor one who is with their mother any longer), I can only say that the help you gave will not only be appreciated by the people who care about those children, but the children themselves. That act of kindness will stick with that boy, and will surely be imparted upon his sister when he's old enough.

To think of my own kids, that age, lost...I can only hope to god there would be someone kind enough to do what you did.

[swanbait]

Thank you, sir.

[sayurixxvii]

You did exactly the right thing (although I would have made sure to tell an extra officer everything that they told me-kids tend to "forget" things around parents) and I'm sure you could think much clearer being alone. I would have wanted to take them home with us and convert the darkroom into a bedroom. xox :)

[swanbait]

Yeah, there were only two officers and they both rushed in. I knew they were taking it seriously, and I hung around to at least make sure that the police were going back to the home with them to investigate. So I knew that they didn't just think it was a totally innocent mistake worth blowing off.

[caliginous]

If nothing else this will start a file on these kids. So if anything else comes up, a teacher at school notices anything amiss with the boy, another call, etc. then CPS has a flag in their system to help them make a better determination as to their next actions. Everything you can do to call attention to the situation, even if it isn't an immediate remedy, is a huge help to the kids. With this I wouldn't be surprised if the parents get brought to court for negligence and have to take parenting classes (and/or join aa).

[swanbait]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I thought today that maybe I should send an email to the school about the situations, just in case they didn't get word of any of this. They should be informed so that they can keep an eye on the boy and his parents, I think.