A GoFundMe account set up to help a homeless family whose parents were arrested last month for child abuse has raised enough money in a week to buy them a house. As of Sunday afternoon, $53,000—more than half of the $100,000 goal—had been donated by more than 600 people. Jackie Klear, a friend of Mona Kirk and Daniel Panico, said that she knew of a house in Joshua Tree that had been vacant for a long time and the seller agreed to sell the house at a greatly reduced price, and let the family live in it rent-free until the sale is recorded. Klear said Kirk and Panico decided to buy the house instead of build a house on their Sunfair property so that the family could be together again as soon as possible. This past weekend, dozens of volunteers met at the house and tore out carpets, scrubbed and painted walls, cleaned up the yard, and just worked hard to get the home in livable condition for the family to move in to. Mona Kirk, 53, and Daniel Panico, 71, were arrested February 28 after a Sheriff’s deputy found the family living in a plywood structure off Sunfair Road in Joshua Tree. The family’s three children, ages 11, 13, and 14, were taken into custody by Child and Family Services, and Kirk and Panico were each charged with three felony counts of child abuse. They were released from jail last week on their own recognizance and have another court date tomorrow (Tuesday, March 13th) to argue against the protective order that is keeping them away from their children.
The GoFundMe page:
https://www.gofundme.com/fxy2rg
