South Florida

Miami Police Offer Support for Homeless Mother, Children

A South Florida police department displayed generosity after a woman was abandoned and down on her luck.

Life isn't easy for Monica Diaz and her four children. The family is homeless.

Diaz said she didn't have the money to pay the Miami motel they had been calling home on Monday, and so they were told to leave.

"I thought we were gonna sleep in the car or in the street, but they found us a place to sleep," said Diaz's son, Brian.

The help came from the City of Miami. The police department and several other agencies were conducting a routine inspection of motels, and they found the desperate family.

"When this group of officers, the fire department, saw this family, they worked their magic. We were able to put them at the homeless assistance center for a few days, and they actually went into their pockets and gathered some money, so we could provide them with food and clothing," said Freddie Cruz with the Miami Police Dept.

Diaz said the help came when she needed it most. After spending some time in a shelter this week, she called her friend who she is staying with now. The situation is hard for her children who just want stability one day.

But the uncertainty for this family is about more than a place to live. On Monday, their world was turned upside down.

"My dad, I don't know where he is right now," Brian said.

Diaz said her husband disappeared, and that's why, even though she works, she didn't have the money to pay the motel on Monday.

"She tries her best. It tears my heart to see her like this," Brian said.

Police and the other public servants who came to help the mother said they would have done it for anybody.

"We don't know where this mother and children would have ended up. They could have stayed in their car or under a bridge," Cruz said.

Now, even though it's unclear what the future will bring, the family is okay.

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