A mother would do whatever it takes to protect her children; that is a universal truth that no one would dare argue with. However, sometimes what is necessary is not the right thing to do, and a mother’s desperate acts can end up having the worst consequences. February 11th was the worst day in the life of Shina Bell, a single mother from Ohio who had been struggling alone for more than three years to raise her family. But before we get to the defining moment that would completely change the fate of this woman and her two children, we need to get some context and background on the story that would lead this young mother to do what was necessary to take care of her family, although sometimes what is necessary is not always the right thing to do.
Shina Bell was a 32-year-old young mother who lived her entire life in the small town of Dayton, Ohio. There, she was born and raised as the only daughter of a humble and hardworking couple who ran a small home cooking restaurant, where she would later fall in love with and marry the one she always considered the only love of her life, Jonas Bell. Jonas and Shina were high school sweethearts, the typical teenage love that no one believes will survive after high school, but to everyone’s surprise, managed to overcome distance and time, culminating in the couple’s wedding when they were only 22 years old. The couple had a prosperous and happy marriage for many years, becoming parents to two beautiful children, Jack and Emily, who filled the Bell home with happiness and joy. However, the couple’s fate was doomed to misfortune, going from bliss to suffering in a matter of weeks.
Jonas worked for a major construction company and every day he spent eight hours in the air helping with the construction of large buildings all over the city. It wasn’t his dream job and his wife didn’t like him risking his life like that, but it paid very well and they needed the money to support the family. Shina’s husband had been in the industry for more than 10 years and nothing bad had ever happened to him, until one fateful day while working on the construction of a luxury hotel, when a small misstep more than 100 meters up cost him his life.
“We regret to inform you that your husband, Jonas Bell, has passed away. It was a terrible accident. The emergency services were unable to do anything to save his life,” were the words of the policeman who called Shina on the morning of her husband’s death. Since that morning, Shina and her two children’s lives had never been the same. The happiness and well-being she had achieved with Jonas vanished after his burial, and all she was left with was the title of widow, a house she couldn’t afford, and two small children to support and make understand their father wasn’t coming back. The only family she had left was her mother, but she was a woman over 65 years old who lived more than an hour away from her and her children, so she couldn’t count on their help either.
For the first few months after Jonas’s death, Shina was able to get by thanks to the severance pay she received from the company where her husband worked and a little savings they had been storing up for emergencies, and certainly, that is what it was. However, everything started to get complicated for her after a year. The money was barely enough to pay the rent, house expenses, and food, not to mention all the expenses associated with the education of the children who were 10 and 2 years old at the time. Her mother was sending her money every month, but nothing was enough. Shina had to start working and she had to do it as soon as possible; otherwise, she would be left without a house to live in. Faced with this new reality, Shina had to do something she never would have done if she had any other choice: look for a job and leave her children at home alone.
It was a very difficult decision to make and she didn’t have the full support of her mother, but it was the only way out that the young mother saw to get ahead and ensure the welfare of her kids.
“I can’t stay at home waiting for a disaster to happen, Mom,” she told her mother over the phone after accepting a job as an evening waitress at a pizzeria near her home. “I don’t have any money left to pay the rent or food for the children. I can go hungry, but they can’t. I’ll never let my children go hungry or not be able to go to school. I will never let my children miss school. I will only be gone for a few hours. Jack is older and he’ll be able to check on his sister while I’m gone. I’m sure I’m doing the right thing; otherwise, I wouldn’t do it.”
For the first month, everything seemed to go well. The children were unharmed in her absence and if she needed anything or had any questions, Jack had learned to call his grandmother on the phone to talk to her while his mother was away. In addition, she had also spoken to a friend who lived nearby so that she would stop by every hour or two to check that everything was going well. It seemed that everything was stabilizing in her life again and the problems were disappearing, until the peace was over.
Shina didn’t notice anything and thought that no one would notice what was happening, but apparently, they did. The neighbors who lived right across the street had been monitoring her and didn’t hesitate to file a complaint against her—a complaint that would turn Shina Bell’s world upside down and break her heart.
One evening, two police officers showed up at her work, Little Caesar’s, and arrested her in front of everyone. Bell was charged with endangering her children by leaving them home alone for several hours and spent the night in jail. The children stayed at a friend’s house while their mother tried to make the police understand that she wasn’t abandoning her children and that everything she was doing was to take care of them. However, the police had too much evidence against her and it would take more than her word to believe her and drop the neglect and abuse charges.
“Mrs. Bell, do you understand that what you’ve done is very serious? Do you have someone who can corroborate your version of events? You have the right to call an attorney and if you don’t have one, one will be provided for you,” the police officers guarding her spoke to her as if she was a criminal and barely listened to her.
“I love my children! I would never abandon them!” shouted Bell desperately from her cell. “If I left them home alone, it was to work so I could have money to survive. You have to believe me, please let me out!”
Seeing that the mother continued to insist on her innocence, the police decided to carry out a small investigation to verify that what Shina was telling them was true. That led them to Bell’s house, where they discovered the terrible situation the family was going through. They discovered the house where Bell lived with the children was in very poor condition and in urgent need of renovation. There were leaks in several rooms, the refrigerator was practically empty, and the heating hadn’t been used for months. It was unbearably cold outside, but the mother couldn’t afford to turn it on, which explained the number of blankets scattered around the house.
After their discovery and a thorough analysis of the complicated family situation of Shina and her two kids, the police decided to release her and let her return to her children. It was only a few hours, but for Shina, it was a real nightmare. She had never been separated from her children for so long and she couldn’t wait to hold them in her arms again. However, before leaving the prison and returning to them, Bell was in for an unexpected surprise, this time one that would make her smile and help her overcome problems. After verifying that her story was true and seeing the deplorable conditions in which she was living with her two kids, the police agreed to help her find a new temporary home for her to live in while a fund was being set up to finance all the renovations to her current home.
“You’re free, Mrs. Bell, but remember that what you have done is not allowed, even if your intents are good. No child can be home alone. Do you understand?” said the police officer, releasing her.
“Of course, I understood. I’d never have parted with them if I had any other choice. Thank you so much, I’ll never forget it,” Bell replied, very excited at the thought of returning to her children and having the chance to start over with a clean slate.
As promised, a week after her release, the police set up a GoFundMe for her. Bell didn’t have high hopes for the initiative to succeed, but she would soon realize how wrong she was. Initially, the crowdfunding campaign was supposed to raise around $5,000, but within days, donations flooded in and Bell received more than $165,000 in donations.
“I can’t believe it. It’s a dream, and I thought no one was going to show solidarity with me,” said the mother, surprised to see the amount of money raised in just a couple of weeks.
Bell couldn’t believe the help she was receiving from all over the country, especially after hearing her story and having had to abandon her children at home to go to work. She thought her actions would get her a lot of criticism, but what happened was just the opposite. To everyone’s surprise, her main donations came from a music label co-founder, Pierre P. Thomas, who donated $10,000, and a Cleveland Cavaliers player, JaVale McGee, who donated $5,000. These were not anonymous donations and were also accompanied by a strong social media campaign that would help wash the young mother’s image and give her strength to move forward.
Pierre Thomas sympathized with Bell’s situation on social media, writing on his official Instagram account, “My mother had to do the same thing when we were young, not because of abandonment issues, but because people can’t afford child care. Working in a pizza place, she wasn’t hanging out at a club, she was working. I totally understand her. Likewise, she deserves all the help we can give her.”
After the successful fundraising and the sudden fame that Bell’s story had on social networks, the mother wanted to speak out to thank for the help received and at the same time bravely take full responsibility for the situation they were living in. Bell also said that with the money from GoFundMe, she would be able to completely renovate her house and turn it into a beautiful home where her children would be able to grow up by her side.
