Who is Shaina Bell? Ohio mom who left kids alone to go to work arrested, gets $165K in donations to buy home
BUTLER COUNTY, OHIO: The mother of an Ohio woman, who was arrested for leaving her two children home alone to go to work, has managed to raise $150,000 to help support her 24-year-old daughter and grandchildren.
Shaina Bell, 24, was accused of leaving behind her daughters, ages 10 and 3, in a Motel 6 hotel room where they live in Liberty Township, Butler County so she could go to work at Little Caesars, news station WKBN reported. “I had to go to work … My daughter told me that this is where she wants to be, and I felt that she was old enough to be able to stay here with her sister for a few hours because my job is right down the street,” Bell said in the report.
She added that she usually asks someone to check on her children every hour while she works at the pizza joint on February 11, Fox4 reported. "I’ve cried a couple of times since this situation started. I’m just trying to keep a level head and trying to stay strong because that’s all I can do," she added.
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Who is Shaina Bell?
Shaina's description on the GoFundMe page set up by her mother Danielle Hosey says she is a single mother of three young children, Faith, Jai'Sean and Jade. "She works hard and she loves her family very much," it adds. Bell was arrested at her job on Thursday, February 11, 2021, and taken to jail for leaving two of her children alone in their hotel room while she went to work. She spent the night in jail after her childrens' father called the police. She was released the next day but found herself in the need of immediate housing.
"A lot of people are saying hurtful things, but a lot of people are also being there for me and showing great support," Bell, who said she plans to use the money to buy a permanent and safe house for her family, told Fox4. "I have over $100,000 in a GoFundMe account right now. I didn't ask for that, but people gave it to me, and I'm just over appreciative to what's going on."
"We understand that everyone has a story and we are grateful that you are listening to ours. From the bottom of our hearts we not only appreciate the financial contributions but also the outpouring of support in the form of kind words and understanding," said the fundraiser, which raised $165,639. While the campaign has been closed, the page shared a Cash App handle ($2DaniPatryce) for anyone who still may be interested in donations.