What began as part of a Fort Worth police officer’s daily patrol quickly became personal and led to an outpouring of compassion for a single mother and her seven children.
According to Robin Bohlin with the Fort Worth Police and Clergy Coalition, the effort started when the officer met a young boy in his patrol area.
“This started with an officer. He’s a neighborhood police officer… He met this little boy that was looking for odd jobs to make money,” Bohlin said. “Just through a series of really caring for the little boy, he found out this family was living in a duplex that did not have a piece of furniture. There were seven children sleeping on the floor.”
The discovery, Bohlin said, shocked the officer.
“You would like to think that doesn’t happen in our community, but it does,” she said.
The officer soon learned the family’s situation was even more dire. On Christmas Eve, the refrigerator held only a single item.
“A bottle of ranch dressing, and there are seven children in the house,” Bohlin said.
Moved by what they found, Fort Worth police officers stepped in immediately. Many were off duty but chose to act anyway, using their own money to help.
“On Christmas Eve, a lot of these people were not even working,” Bohlin said. “They spent their own personal money, bought food, bought mattresses so the kids wouldn’t have to sleep on the floor, and filled the refrigerator.”
Police then reached out to Bohlin and her husband, Pastor Jonas Bohlin at Fullness in Christ Church in Lake Country. The couple are also members of the Fort Worth Police and Clergy Coalition and founders of a neighborhood action committee.
“We had to enact our neighborhood response team,” Robin Bohlin said. “It’s through Lake Country Property Owners Association. I had this idea about a year ago. I had heard of a community in California that had done the same thing. They appointed a neighborhood chaplain. And since I’m already a chaplain with the city of Fort Worth Police Department, I suggested for me to become the chaplain of this neighborhood and to start a neighborhood response team.”
Robin made a post on the group’s Facebook page, and within 48 hours, their church became a donation hub for the family. Calls and offers of help poured in from across North Texas.
“We started getting calls Christmas Day from Weatherford, from Southlake,” Pastor Jonas said.
What organizers expected to be a modest response quickly grew beyond anything they imagined. Donations included food, clothing, furniture, and household essentials. Vehicles arrived packed with items and volunteers eager to help.
“We just thought, well, yeah, we’ll put it out there and see who wants to help,” Pastor Jonas said. “I didn’t know my phone could ring as much as it’s been ringing in the last couple of days.”
The children’s names, ages, and backgrounds, as well as their mothers have been kept private. What is clear, however, is that their home is no longer empty.
“That’s God moving on a situation and saying ‘Hey I’m with you in this. I am here to help,’” Pastor Jonas said. “I want him to know that most people want to do good… And I hope it encourages him to want to be successful with his life and help other people.”
For those involved, they said the experience served as a reminder of the impact small moments of care can have when shared by an entire community.
“I want our people to pick up the mantle of taking care of each other,” Pastor Jonas said. To learn more about the Fort Worth Police and Clergy Coalition, visit the police department’s website here.