Mother of 5-year-old Elkhart boy shot in head needs financial help

Sara Hill has known Damaris since he was born, and his mother, Tracy Grant, for eight years.

“We don’t know how long she’s going to be there. So I just want to get her as much help as we can. Because this is an ongoing issue. I know it’s only in the paper once a week or something, but she’s dealing with this every day and it could be so you’re not having the money to take care of the things you need to take care of is hard,” Hill said.

Hill said Grant and Damaris lived with her and her family for about six months when Grant was going through a hard time. But she said that does not compare to what Grant is going through now.

“We just want to help them as much as we can, to ease the burden. Because this is already enough of a tragedy as it is. I just don’t want them to have to worry about money and diapers and that kind of thing right now,” Hill said.

Damaris also has an 11-week-old brother.

 “I understand her struggle, and I can hear it in her voice. And she’s torn because she needs to be there with Damaris and she has an eleven week old son: a brand new baby that she would love to bond with but she can’t right now because he can’t be at Riley with her 24-7,” Hill said.

Hill added that it is nearly impossible for Grant  to pay for her Elkhart apartment while being in Indianapolis with Damaris.

“She’s trying to be by his bedside 24-7, and doesn’t have any way to provide for her household. She still has to maintain the utilities and that kind of thing. And she also has an 11-week-old son, who needs things.  Plus she needs gas to get back and forth. And, she still has to try and feed herself right now.”

Hill said she hopes the community shows up in full force for the silent auction, adding that there is no such thing as a small donation.

“Even if it’s a dollar, five dollars, whatever you can spare. I mean we all have a little something extra, and if we can spare it, I think a little bit goes a long way,” she said.

The auction will go from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Flaunt Boutique in Elkhart’s Easy Shopping Plaza near Hacienda.

Family members confirmed that as of Monday night, Damaris was still in critical condition, expressing anger that other media outlets have reported otherwise.