I am Nevada Blake, granny of Amira 18, Sierra 17 and Demetrius 15. We have always been a close family but in February of 2005 we became even closer. My only child was murdered by her police officer husband in a domestic dispute. He was fired from the police department but was never charged with anything. My grand children became my children immediately. My husband and I went to court to gain custody of them without any delay. They have received the best professional counseling and received all of our love over the years, but the scars of their mothers death ran very deep. DJ (Demetrius) was the angriest and most sullen of the three. He stayed to himself and never wanted to talk about his mother again. Soon he was in trouble in school and had announced gang affiliations to his classmates. The Board of Education put him out of public school and I was sick with the thoughts that were taking me over. We had to act quickly. I went on line and found a bible based school for troubled teens, talked with the administors and had to come up with $3,000.00 immediately. This covered his first and last month of schooling. We took everything we could find out of our accounts and borrowed against my husbands retirement. It's been two years now. DJ loves school and is carrying a 3.0 grade average. I write him often and we are sharing much happier letters. The cost of school is an on going challenge. If anyone knows of any organizations who may be willing to help us please let me know. DJ has 3 more years to go, he said he wants to join the AirForce when he graduates. I thank God for all he has done for this family and will continue to work towards the future of my children. Thank you for reading my letter.
