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Homeless mom, 6 children say they are thankful for the kindness of strangers

Good Samaritans pay for gas, motel room
Posted at 11:17 PM, Nov 21, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-22 01:17:47-05

DENVER – A Jefferson County woman and her six children, who are once again living out of their SUV, say they are very thankful for the kindness of strangers.

We first told you about Charice Lister last April when she parked her SUV behind a big box store.

After that story aired, families from her children’s school community banded together to help. They found a vacant home for the family to stay in “rent-free” temporarily.

Lister said they moved out-of-state thinking life might get a little easier, but it didn’t, so they came back to Colorado, parking the SUV near Faversham Park.

“It’s been cold,” she said, “We would sit in the park. A lot of people approached me and asked if they could help in any way. Thankfully, we’ve had people who gave me gas money so that I could run the car and keep it warm."  

Lister said some people gave them gift cards while others paid for a few nights in a motel room during snowstorms.

She said two good Samaritans paid for a few nights in a motel during Thanksgiving week, so her children would have a roof over their head during the holiday.

Very Nice Strangers

“Lots of very nice strangers have helped us,” she said.

Lister specifically mentioned one of the employees at a nearby Walmart “who has brought us breakfast in the morning because he sees our routine of coming in there to use the restroom.”

She said she has a new adopted angel “who takes the kids periodically on weekends to spend time with her grandkids.”

That "Angel" has also set up a GoFundMe account to help the family. 

Lister also said the mother of one of her son’s friends has taken them swimming and skating.

When asked what she was doing for Thanksgiving, Lister said, “My friend, Kayla, she sort of takes all of us black sheep in and throws a Thanksgiving dinner for all of us, so I will be at her house tomorrow, for Thanksgiving.”

Light at End of the Tunnel

The 34-year-old mom told Denver7 that she applied for help through Family Tree’s Rapid Re-housing Program.

“They told me yesterday that they approved me,” she said. “I have to meet with a caseworker and see what goes on from there.”

She wants a place that will take Honey, a little Chihuahua that she calls, “my calm in the storm.”  

Lister said her children are doing good in school, but that not having a place to call home is wearing on them.

“My 9-year-old, he really wants white sauce pasta,” she said. “That’s all he ever talks about is ‘when we can get a place, so you can make white sauce pasta.’ It’s little things like that that the kids miss. They want a home cooked meal and their own room.”

As for her kids, she says they don’t ask for much.

“For Thanksgiving, they just want pumpkin pie,” she said. “So I told them I’ll make sure they get some pumpkin pie.”

Lister said for Christmas, “the kids just hope they can have somewhere to go. I told them, ‘we’re living in the car, so we can’t really get presents because there’s no (room) for anything.”

She said her children are thankful the family is now on Family Tree’s list and are hopeful to soon have a room of their own.