A Texas mom staying at a domestic violence shelter recently discovered a poignant letter from her 7-year-old to Santa.
The woman, who is living at the Safe Haven of Tarrant County in Fort Worth, told shelter officials she discovered the Santa letter from her son Blake a few weeks ago. In the letter, Blake asks for chapter books, a compass, watch and “a new dad.”
The letter reads:
Dear Santa,
We had to leave our house. Dad was mad. We had to do all the chores. Dad got everything he wanted. Mom said it was time to leave and she would take us to a safer place where we don't have to be scared.
I'm still nervous. I don't want to talk to the other kids. Are you going to come this Christmas? We don't have any of our stuff here. Can you bring some chapter books, a dictionary, and a compass and a watch? I also want a very, very, very good dad. Can you do that, too?
Love,
Blake
The shelter posted Blake’s letter on its Facebook page, and it has been met with sympathy and a desire to get Blake everything on his list. Hundreds of people loved or liked the post, and the post has been shared nearly 200 times.
“Children should not go through this,” Mandy Watkins wrote in response to the Facebook post. “It breaks my heart when parents don’t care about their flesh (and) blood. Thank You God for places like SafeHaven.”
Another Facebooker, Rebecca Smith, commented, “What a sweet boy! It’s so sad to see children scared and hurt.. prayers for this little boy and all the families in this situation!”
Safe Haven is able to assist families with living arrangements and fulfilling Christmas lists through Santa's Sack, a donation drive for families staying at the shelters. One Facebooker attested to the impact of the Santa Sack program. Monetary donations to the program can be made here.
“Santa Sack helped my kids have a wonderful Christmas after we left our abusive situation a few years back,” Veonna Echols wrote. “This is an amazing organization and I can't wait until the day when I have the means to give back to it.”
For more on Safe Haven and its programs, visit https://www.safehaventc.org/.
If you or someone you know is affected by domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at https://www.thehotline.org/. If you are afraid your internet usage might be monitored, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or TTY 1-800-787-3224.
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