The striking words of a 7-year-old boy are going viral this week, after his heartbreaking letter to Santa spread like wildfire across the internet.
7-year-old Blake and his mom have been living in a SafeHaven shelter since around Thanksgiving. When his mom found his annual letter to Santa in his backpack, it struck such a nerve that the nonprofit shelter decided to share it on their Facebook page.
“Dear Santa,
We had to leave our house. Dad was mad. We had to do all the chores. Dad got everything he wanted. Mom said it was time to leave and she would take us to a safer place where we don’t have to be scared. I’m still nervous. I don’t want to talk to the other kids. Are you going to come this Christmas? We don’t have any of our stuff here. Can you bring some chapter books, a dictionary, and a compass and a watch? I also want a very very very good dad. Can you do that too?
Love, Blake.”
For obvious reasons, his heartbreaking letter went viral, drawing an influx of donations to the shelter, which serves all of Tarrant County in the area of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas.
“To us, it was kind of a story that we’ve heard all the time,” Kathryn Jacob, the president and CEO of SafeHaven told TODAY. “Like tonight, we have 73 kids in the shelter. So Blake is just one of many.”
But as “normal” as it is for the shelter’s staff to encounter these situations, they were struck by the overwhelming response of comments on Blake’s letter from women who are survivors of domestic violence.
“One in three women in Texas will experience domestic violence in their lifetime,” she explained. “Even though we inherently know that, what has been remarkable to us is the number of women commenting on those stories saying they can relate.”
Many commenters were also concerned about Blake and his mother’s safety with all of the attention around the letter being spread through the media. Jacob assured that Blake and his mom are not in danger.
“We so appreciate everyone’s concern over the safety of Blake and his family,” the shelter added to the post on their Facebook page. “Victim safety has been our priority for over 40 years, and we would never compromise that through a social media post or otherwise. Blake and his mom are safe! Thank you for your concern for his family.”
Since posting the original letter to Santa, the shelter has seen an overwhelming number of donations, including everything Blake asked for on his list.
Join us in praying for Blake and his mother, as well as all of the women and children spending Christmas in a Safe Haven shelter. If you feel led to give, you can do so HERE.
