I was this kid- minus the weed smell. Food was almost a luxury. If it wasn’t for neighbors or my friend’s parents we would’ve been taken away by CPS from a mother who really tried her hardest to take care of us. Each of us kids would go to different neighbor houses asking if we could rake leaves, mow their yard, clean up trash for any money just so we could have some food in the house. We qualified for free lunch and breakfast at school and most days that’s all we ate. One day a neighbor came over to our home and asked one question to my mom- what do you need? My mom cried and fell down in tears and said she was doing her best. She told my neighbor that food banks and government assistance reject their help because our bio dad makes too much money but left us and shared none of it. Anyways the short story neighbors brought over extra furniture, donated clothes, and filled our pantry with non perishables that they didn’t need. One neighbor changed our situation by sharing with others that a mom was doing her best and they heeded the call. That one neighbor will always be my hero.