Adopt-A-Family For The Holidays

MIAMI (CBS4) -Latocia Brown prepares dinner for her seven children every night but admits being a single parent isn't easy, especially during the holidays.

The 34 year-old mother says it is her children who gave her the courage to finally get out of an abusive marriage.

"My kids it was mostly for them, I was the only one they had, I had to do it for them," says Brown.

She dotes on her children, ages two to fifteen, and proudly displays their academic awards in their cramped three bedroom low income apartment.

"They all A's and A's, I'm really proud of them," she says.

Surviving on a salary from a part time job, Brown struggles to provide for her family. The one thing she'd like to do for them this year is give them a Christmas to remember.

"I just hope I could get a tree with gifts and that they can have a nice Christmas," she says.

But money is tight and any she gets must go for basic necessities, and she is hoping for help this holiday season.

That kind of help is what thousands of Miami residents, including single mothers like Brown, stood in line for hours Wednesday to get at the annual food giveaway in Little Havana.

Latocia Brown and her family are part of a growing number of families finding themselves in need as a result of job loss, an illness or other circumstances beyond their control. As the numbers grow, charitable organizations that help families in need find themselves struggling to keep up.

"We have 154 families on the list waiting to be adopted and that translates into more than 800 individuals that are really looking for some help this holiday season," says Nicole Maristany, producer for CBS 4's Neighbors 4 Neighbors.

The charitable organization has helped tens of thousands of people over the years and through it's Adopt-A-Family program, they hope to do the same this holiday season for families like Latocia Brown's this holiday season, but they need the public's help to do so.

"These are just families that need a leg up," she says. "It can be the difference of having dinner on the table or not."

Maristany says every little bit helps, a little bit that can go a long way in helping families like Latocia Brown's, families not asking for a hand out just a helping hand.

Click Here for more information on how you can sponsor a family through CBS4's Neighbors 4 Neighbors Adopt-A-Family program.