No running water, no food in fridge: Florida teenager makes ‘desperate’ call to 911
A 14-year-old child had enough of her living situation — and took action.
According to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, Dennis and Betty Allen were arrested after their teen daughter made a “desperate” call to 911 on Oct. 31.
What she told dispatchers was a horror story.
The juvenile said that she was being home-schooled but not being taught anything. Instead, she was “being used as a full-time caregiver” for her four younger siblings, ages 6, 8, 9, and 12, as well as three dogs, a rabbit and two chickens — all while her parents worked night shifts.
Deputies and officials from the Department of Children and Families responded to the Bunnell, Florida, home that was in “complete disarray,” encountering “untenable” conditions.
The grass in the front yard was “high enough to hide a small child and littered with gas cans, beer cans, rust covered metal materials, and other trash.” The front porch was filled with fecal matter from two chickens that “freely roamed the property.”
Further inspection of the home revealed deplorable living conditions. Every room contained “an abundance of animal feces, animal urine, rotting food, roaches, and other flying insects.”
The refrigerator was just as the teen had said: There was nothing edible inside — just a bag of frozen chicken in the freezer.
“Some rooms were so littered with trash that deputies were unable to see the floor and their boots stuck to the filth-covered floors,” according to the sheriff’s office.
The sole bathroom had no running water, just a hose that ran through the window and into the shower.
“The toilet appeared to have been used for days on end with no way to discard the waste in the bowl.”
Both parents, Betty Allen 42, and Dennis Allen, 33, were charged with five counts each of child neglect, and the five kids were placed with protective services.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office has since received an outpouring of support from the community and a strong desire to help the children.
The Community Baptist Church at 956 S. Old Dixie Highway in Bunnell (386-437-1010, cbc956@gmail.com) has been designated as the collection site for donations. Donations will be collected on site from 9 a.m. until noon through Thursday, the agency said.
Donations to the children can also be made by visiting https://cbc956.breezechms.com/give/online. They need new or gently used clothing, underwear, socks and shoes.
The sheriff’s office says the funds will be managed by the church staff and distributed for each child’s needs equally, and won’t go to the parents or toward their legal bills.
“I am so impressed with the community’s desire to help these children in need,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “Thank you for coming together to help and support them and thank you to the Community Baptist Church for stepping up to help them and for looking out for them.”
The Allen kids are being cared for in foster homes, with the girls in one home and the boys in another by the Department of Children and Family Services and the Community Partnership for Children. The plan is to place all siblings together, the sheriff said.
This story was originally published November 6, 2019 at 1:43 PM.
