When Shannon Loveless, a homeless mother, noticed Sacramento police officers Johnny Le and Tim Yee approaching her family, she assumed they were in danger. However, the focus of this uplifting short tale is on how that event altered their lives for the better! Shannon Loveless and her three children had nowhere to go when they became homeless. So the family made do, living out of their van and relying on food banks for sustenance.
Two Sacramento police officers observed the impoverished family camping out and eating lunch behind Walmart one day. Shannon became tense as they neared. “I wasn’t sure whether we were going to get in trouble or not,” she recounted. However, Johnny Le and Tim Yee were not there to lecture the destitute family. They were there to assist! It struck Sacramento police officers hard when they saw Shannon Loveless and her family.
“It kind of broke me up a little bit to see the kids filthy and hungry,” Deputy Johnny Le recounted. These compassionate cops listened to the family’s tale. They then returned with food and toys for the children. Because it would take CPS some time to locate a more permanent home for the family to reside, deputies Johnny Le and Tim Yee arranged for them to stay in a hotel in the meanwhile.
Shannon’s life was changed forever when she saw two Sacramento police officers heading her way. “You take it for granted that [the kids] may have a warm place to sleep and watch cartoons — you know, stuff that kids do,” Shannon added, overcome with emotion. This is the aspect of police service that the officers like the most. “They see this, they see the flashing red and blue lights, they look at us terrible, we are there to assist them and their issue,” Tim Yee said.
And the cops are well aware that they had come upon Shannon Loveless and her family by chance. “I’m going to call that day a miracle,” Deputy Johnny Le stated. “It was a fulfillment in my heart and the heart of my spouse that we done something extremely nice for the family.” The Sacramento police officers’ gesture of compassion was a chance for them to be the hands and feet of Jesus to a suffering family in need. And sometimes, unexpected kindness is precisely what someone needs to keep going. “Shannon described it as a “complete game changer.” “The drive and spirit are there, I’m ready, let’s get this year started correctly!””