Little League Fan Helps Homeless Baseball Player’s Family And My Faith In Humanity Is Restored

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I am so glad to have a happy news story for you all today. Jackie Robinson West is the winning team for this year’s Little League World Series but one of their team members had a sad situation happening at home while his team was making their way through the tournament. It turned out that Jaheim Benton’s family lost their home and were bouncing around from various family member’s houses. Help from a kind local turned it all around as this homeless baseball player’s family got a huge surprise.

While Jaheim was with his team, his mother’s hours at work had been cut resulting in the family losing their rented home. According to Today, his mother would not allow their situation to ruin his once-in-a-lifetime run with the country’s number one Little League team:

“It’s been hard, but I just tell my baby to hold his head up,” Jaheim’s mom, Devona, told TODAY. “I told him to get out there and play ball despite his knowing that we lost our home.”

Hang on, I am trying to see my laptop screen through my teary eyes. That is a MOM right there. In telling her son to keep going despite his family’s troubles at home she is doing what so many moms do every day. Letting our kids be kids while we tackle life’s tougher problems. It makes me sad because I know that I feel bad before our kid’s baseball games if we’ve had a hard morning let alone something as serious as facing homelessness. I am amazed at this incredible kid and his ability to focus on baseball during such a difficult time. I think it speaks volumes about his mother and how much his family loves him that he can stay so strong despite their home situation.

The story ends beautifully thanks to a local businessman and his kind heart:

With the team’s success, as they returned from Williamsburg, Pennsylvania as national champions, word of the Benton family’s situation slowly began to spread. Local businessman Spencer Leak, owner of Leak and Sons Funeral Home, head about Jaheim’s struggles, he decided to step in, and offered to pay for the Benton family’s rent for a year.

“Superstar and homeless don’t mix,” Leak said. “We’ve got to do something about that and for the next year, little superstar Jaheim is going to have a home.”

Well, I don’t think any child should be homeless whether they are superstars or not but otherwise, Leak’s sentiment is completely heart-warming. It is so tough for a child with a less-than-ideal situation at home to succeed in school and in sports. By swooping in and securing a roof over their heads for a year, he has given this family an incredible gift. They have a chance to get on their feet and take a deep breath without having to worry about who’s couch they are going to sleep on each night. If only more people with means felt this way. No child should have to deal with being homeless and I am so glad that one less family will have that worry tonight.

(Image: Suzanne Tucker/Shutterstock)

 

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