James Schweikhard took his daughter to school every day, but something started to seem very wrong when school administrators looked at the two men a little closer. The girl’s elementary school called police who tracked the father to his SUV and were surprised by what they found inside.
The 41-year-old father had recently left Oklahoma with his 10-year-old daughter and traveled to Lakewood, Colorado, but their situation was no ordinary move. James Schweikhard said he had to flee his home state because staying there posed a greater risk than starting over in the Denver metro area. However, it didn’t take long for him to run into the police, who were about to change the course of his day when they took a closer look at his vehicle.
The two had been living in Colorado for a few months and James enrolled his daughter in school. After several weeks of coming and going to campus, administrators noticed that she was arriving late to class and seemed very tired. One day, after walking his daughter to school, James returned to his parked SUV and found it surrounded by Lakewood police officers. “I saw them looking at my truck, I said, ‘Officers, what’s going on?’ “, remembers James.
The police were only there to help, but it was a strange event for James, who is not used to receiving help from the police. James and his young daughter were living in his SUV, filled with their belongings, after leaving Oklahoma in search of a better life. “I packed everything we owned into the truck over there and we just drove up here,” he said. “It was riskier to stay in Oklahoma. I couldn’t find a job for anything, I couldn’t find a place to live.
The homeless family was just trying to survive, but just as things were starting to improve, James’ truck broke down. Unfortunately, not having reliable transportation also cost him his job. He was driving his daughter to school before it broke down, and it became clear to campus staff that the vehicle was more than a means of transportation, it was also their home. They alerted local authorities, worried about the young student.
Lakewood Police Officer James Butler was on scene investigating the school call when he began speaking to James and learned of the heartbreaking ordeal he and his daughter had endured. Butler didn’t just listen, he decided to act, and he did so with urgency, out of compassion for this man and his child.
Butler immediately took the family to a shelter. He also arranged for Ace Towing to transport his car to Sun Valley Automotive, and both companies generously donated their services. “It was the right thing to do,” Butler said. “Because at any time in our lives, any of us can find ourselves in the same situation. Offering help to another human being is the right thing to do.
After hearing about James Schweikhard’s story, residents of the Lakewood community offered to help, and a handful of businesses offered employment to James, who has long struggled with homelessness. James and his daughter were able to move into their first apartment in almost two years. “I’m in shock, I think,” he said. “It actually restored my faith in humanity.”
People donated money, dishes, furniture and clothes for James and his daughter. Sgt. Dave Hoover kept the donated items in his garage for a few weeks, while he waited for James to get his housing application approved. “It’s all about being part of the community,” he said. “I’m amazed we were able to do this so quickly. I was always taught to always extend a helping hand, not handouts. James did a lot of the work to pull himself together.
James Schweikhard is touched that anyone, especially a police officer, would go to such lengths for even the smallest member of his community. “I’m very excited,” James said. “I think it’s great, I think it’s really cool, very unexpected, but very cool,” the grateful father added.
We all have the ability to help others in need, and perhaps we are the ones who could use that compassion at some point in our lives. An entire community came together for a family that had been knocked down. We can all do something, big or small. All acts of kindness make an immeasurable difference in people’s lives.
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