A young boy called 911, but didn’t speak, so an officer who lived near the house where the call had been traced to was asked to go and check it out.
It was around 9:30 p.m. and she had just got her youngest child to bed when she was alerted of the boy’s call.
Once at the house, a boy, 8, opened the door. It didn’t look like he was in any sort of trouble. What’s most, although a rather bare, the house was neat and clean. He was there with his little sister.
The boy introduced himself as Mateo and the reason why he called 911 was because he and his siter were hungry. They were all by themselves, with no adult in sight.
After she questioned them, the officer learned that the children’s mom worked two jobs, obviously struggling to make ends meet.
Mateo said that he took care of his sister, Sophia, while their mom was working. They usually had a thing or two in the fridge, but this time, there was only a jug of milk and some ketchup packets.
The officer called back-up, explaining what was going on, and in no time, services arrived at the house, with a paramedic named Rosa bringing sandwiches for the kids.
Before alerting the social services, the officer tracked down the children’s mom who was working at Joe’s Diner.
She was told the kids were fine but were starving.
The poor woman was upset. It was obvious she was a caring mother who was forced to work long hours in order to provide for her family.
In the days to come, both the officer and Rosa thought about Mateo and Sophia.