My mom told me about a single mother who had three children all under preteen age, and was out of work, a home and any kind of shelter as the shelters are all filled up. There was a house that had been empty for a year, and did not have electricity, heat or running water. However, the man who owned the house, offered to let her stay there until she could get a job and at least some kind of assistance. They slept on mattresses on the floor and the landlord hooked up a generator in the kitchen to at least run a few lights, the heat and water for her and the children. They stayed there only one night, and when he went to check on them, all of them were on the mattresses as if asleep, but had died from carbon monoxide poisoning. It was due to hooking the generator up in the house. Their carbon monoxide levels were in the high 60′s range, which is nearly three times the amount that one can tolerate, I do believe.
Of course one would think it would be a very stupid and dangerous thing to do, but an accident none the less. BUT, the owner of the house, found the four dead and instead of immediately calling 911, he took the generator out of the house and put it in his garage, then called the police. It’s not looking too good for him. My mom didn’t catch what the charges for this will be or is, but I’m going to try later tonight to find updates.
This is terribly tragic and all because of the economy and a single mother can not get a break at all it seems. It pisses me off that the United States can help millions of people in other countries, but not help her own. Shame on us. Shame on the government. And yes…I’m staying on this bandwagon.
