Making ends meet can be tough these days, and it’s a struggle Ebony Rhodes knows all too well.
The hardworking single mom had recently gotten sick and wasn’t able to work as much as she used to.
Because of the subsequent financial struggles, she and her four children were living in her car.
Ebony knew the situation was bad, but it seemed like her only option.
She was still working full-time at Walmart (being too sick to work her second job anymore), yet still, between gas, food, and other expenses, she never had enough left over to save. She couldn’t find a shelter that would accommodate the entire family and refused to be split from her kids. So, for the past six months, they had been calling the 1997 Buick Regal home.
“A lot of times I didn’t sleep because the kids were asleep,” she told CNN.
“I was watching to make sure nothing happened— no one tried to rob us… so we’d just stay right there in the car.”
One day, Ebony was driving her kids to the library when she was pulled over for expired tags.
As soon as she saw the flashing lights in the rear-view mirror, she immediately started to bawl.
“She [the officer] came to the car and asked why I was crying, and I was like, ‘Because my license isn’t good,'” the mother recalled.
Her car was impounded, and she was thrown in jail.
While Ebony was incarcerated, her story made its way around the department. Eventually, Deputy Chief Glazier, a 24-year Atlanta Police Department veteran, caught wind of what was going on.
“We have to do something about this,” he told his wife, Michelle.
Glazier knew of a few shelters and decided to put in a personal call.
He was amazed when they told him they could accommodate Ebony’s family. Considering it was wintertime when shelters are usually filled to the brim, the circumstances left him in particular disbelief.
“When he called me that day I just started crying because I’d been trying to get into different shelters for a long time,” Ebony told CNN.
“No one would ever accept us.”
The Chief Deputy also set up a GoFundMe which raised roughly $65,00 for Ebony’s family.
Now, more than a year after Ebony’s arrest, the family is living in a real home where she can sleep peacefully knowing they’re not in danger. She works as an assistant manager at a fast food restaurant and can afford to pay her rent.
With Glazier’s little bit of help, Ebony was able to completely transform her life. She and her family now have a wonderful relationship with the Atlanta Police Department, and she credits them for everything that has occurred.
She knows being pulled over was a blessing in disguise.
Since being uploaded to YouTube by CNN, Ebony’s story has been viewed thousands of times.
“God bless this cop and PLEASE BLESS ADN HELP THIS LOVELY FAMILY!”
“Thanks for the family for not giving up and the police officer for helping. Good work all around.”
“The truth to the old saying: ‘an act of kindness can go a long way.'”
“I am in tears. This is the best story ever!!!!”
See the video below.
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