This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
On December 19, 2019, the Longmont Police Department received a generous donation of $1,000. This citizen wishes to remain anonymous, asking only to hear the stories of the individuals this donation helped.
Deputy Chief Jeff Satur reached out through the department and had allocated the money to help several families this holiday season.
Satur was kind enough to include the stories of the recipients, which can be found below.
Jeffrey,
Please express my heartfelt gratitude to the citizen for his benevolent donation.
One of the recipients is a single mother DV survivor whose abuser is in prison. She is raising their daughter alone, obviously without child support. She recently sustained a traumatic brain injury in a car accident and is no longer able to work. She and her daughter are SO grateful for this holiday generosity.
My other recipient is a DV survivor who is raising her granddaughter. She had two debilitating neck surgeries and is having a hard time recovering physically. She is only able to work eight hours a week and just learned she will probably be laid off at work. As a result, she is struggling financially. She is a woman of faith and wants me to thank this citizen for this gift during such a difficult time for her.
Sincerely,
Sandie
Detective Sandra Campanella
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Hi Jeff –
I have a participant who needs to be able to make a large payment on his truck before the 28th so it does not get repossessed. He is in this situation due to his work being weather dependent and not having work in nearly a month. This vehicle is his primary resource to be able to continue this work (i.e. he has to be able to get to a job site to work and have money for the truck and without the truck, he can’t work his current job to pay for it). While out of work, he has taken some classes/training to be able to work day labor (specifically flagging) but the temp agency has also not sent him to job sites in the last month. He is discouraged but reports he is remaining sober despite the stressors and not feeling productive.
The $100 would not meet the total amount for the truck but we expect we will need to piece several donations together to make the payment.
Emily Van Doren
Case Management Coordinator
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Earlier this month, victim services was asked to respond to a domestic violence incident. We were asked to work with a woman who had just been assaulted by her husband. As we chatted about resources, she began to bring up her past and how she had previously been a victim of domestic violence. It took her years to get out of that relationship but when she did, she made a promise to herself that she would never allow that to happen again.
That night, she kept her promise and called 9-1-1. She is now a struggling mother of a three-year-old little girl. She is trying her best to make this transition easy on her daughter. Reaching out to different organizations so that they can help explain what is going on. We are on the phone almost daily, connecting her to different resources for rental assistance and other necessities. This donation will be helping her with gas so that she can continue to get to work and drive her daughter to daycare.
Thank you so much
Alexa Moreno
Victim Advocate| She,her,hers
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Chief,
Police and Fire befriended a young girl several years ago when she was approximately 6. Her family has struggled with a substance use disorder and as a result, she has taken on a lot of responsibility. She is an incredible young lady, whose maturity and life skills are far beyond her age, yet she is positive and friendly and has not lost hope. We (Fire and Police) visit her every Christmas. She’s an amazing little girl and thankfully her family is doing much better. Both parents have employment and have taken positive steps to address their issues. They are housed and safe, but this donation will help make their Christmas a little better.
Thanks,
Perry Nachtrieb,
Police Services/SWAT
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Chief Satur,
I’ve been working with a DV survivor. She moved here about 5 years ago with her three daughters from El Salvador. We have been working together for a bit as she was in a very abusive relationship with her husband. She finally made the decision to leave and has been trying to figure out life without the income from her abuser. I know this will help tremendously. Thank you and please pass along my gratitude to the citizen who donated
Detective Edna Munoz-Pena
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Chief,
The recipient of the $100 is the father of a beautiful 3-year-old girl who was the victim of a horrific child abuse three months ago. The family is struggling financially, as the father had to miss about a month of work to be by his daughter’s side during her extensive hospital stay, which led to thousands of dollars in medical bills. Now the father, along with the help of his girlfriend, is helping his daughter through physical therapy in her long road to recovery. The girl is thankfully doing very well and has made amazing progress, physically and mentally, since the assault. The father is very thankful for the gift, especially right before the holidays.
-Detective Nick Aiello
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On Friday, I was tasked with having a 16 year old female forensically interviewed reference a sex assault. During the interview, I spoke with mom who disclosed to me her own sexual assault past (she had never told anyone her story). She is going through very hard times right now and was barely able to purchase a few presents for her three daughters that she is raising on her own. Her mother was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and is going through aggressive chemo. Her mother moved in with her so she can care for her.
The only thing that is keeping this woman going is she is a first-time grandmother as of two weeks ago. Her daughter had a beautiful baby boy and she is helping to raise this little guy. She mentioned that she does not have enough money to purchase a nice Christmas dinner for her whole family. I thought it would be nice to give her $100 towards a dinner that she can enjoy. Thank you for the money, I know that this woman and her children will appreciate it.
Officer Carbajal
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We went on a welfare check on a 17-year-old. We learned the family is having financial troubles and is being forced to move. The family has had to move every year for the past several years and the 17-year-old was experiencing anxiety over the possibility of being homeless. I went into their home and which was filled with moving boxes. There was a Christmas tree in the living room with no decorations or presents under it. I gave the father the $100. He was so surprised and said it was too much and started to cry.
I told him my family struggled a lot when I was growing up, and it took kind people to help us through the hard times. It was so awesome to be able to help this family out. Tell the donor thank you from their family.
Officer Chrystie Wheeler
LEAD/Co Responder
This charitable resident isn't the only person to help out this season. The Anderson family has helped with the annual “Christopher “Doc” Anderson Toy Drive” for the past 11 years. Also, for the last 14 years, the Optimus Club has assisted with raising funds for the Shop with a Cop event. Many donated as police officers and victim advocates participated in their first Salvation Army Bell Ringing this year.
"These donations have helped a lot of families have an easier time over the holidays, for which we are thankful," states Satur.
Anyone interested in donating can bring their donations to the administration desk at the Safety and Justice Center located at 225 Kimbark St.
