Ohio Mom Arrested After Leaving Kids In Motel While She Went To Work Plans On Buying A Home With GoFundMe Money
Over $160,000 has been raised for Shaina Bell since her story went viral.
February 22, 2021 at 6:49 pm
Bell left her two daughters at a Motel 6 where she has been living in order to go to her job at Little Caesars. She was arrested at her job after her child’s father reported her to the police.
“I had to go to work. My daughter decided that she wanted to stay here. My daughter told me that this is where she wants to be, and I felt that she was old enough to be able to stay here with her sister for a few hours because my job is right down the street,” Bell told the local news outlet.
She spoke glowingly of her children and said the reason why she took her job at the pizza parlor was so that she could support her children. She defended herself against attacks she’s received from people online but also acknowledged that she understood why many were mad.
After her child’s father called the police on her, she was charged with two misdemeanor charges of endangering children and ended up spending one night in jail.
“I never set blame on anybody for anything because at the end of the day nobody left my kids in the hotel but me. I’ve cried a couple of times since this situation started. I’m just trying to keep a level head and trying to stay strong because that’s all I can do,” she said, adding that while she has received a lot of hateful messages, many people did contact her to offer support.
She did note that there was a happy ending to her story.
Thanks to a GoFundMe page set up for her, she now has more than $100,000, which she plans to spend on a new home for her and her children.
“A lot of people are saying hurtful things, but a lot of people are also being there for me and showing great support. I have over $100,000 in a GoFundMe account right now. I didn’t ask for that, but people gave it to me, and I’m just over appreciative to what’s going on,” Bell said.
The GoFundMe page has now been stopped after topping $165,000.
Original (February 17, 2021): Thousands of supporters have come to the aid of a Black mother who was arrested last week in Ohio after leaving her children in a motel room while she went to work at a pizza shop.
On Thursday, police arrested Shaina Bell, 24, after they received a tip that the woman’s children, a 10-year-old girl and her 2-year-old sister, were left unattended at a Motel 6, according to local news station WFMJ. When police first located Bell at the pizza restaurant, she said that she has someone regularly check in on the children while she’s at work.The Hill reported that the mother’s case has sparked conversations calling for universal child care. The incident comes at a time where advocacy groups have urged Congress to consider the needs of women and mothers in the COVID-19relief package, which includes raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour.Women are dammed if they do or damned if they don’t. Stay at home with your kids and receive government assistance and you are a leach, go to work for poverty wages and can’t get consistent sitters and go to jail. https://t.co/9NJxEPgCFs
— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) February 15, 2021