Stepmother asks Item Santa to shine light in children’s lives

LYNN – The holidays are a time for family, but some children are forced to struggle with the pain of divorce and splitting the season between two families.One Lynn woman says this is especially hard on her family this time of year because she is trying to help her step-children celebrate the holidays while struggling with disability, financial problems and the toll years of abuse from their biological mother has taken.Karen has brought up her stepchildren Roy and Erika since they were young children, but has struggled to help them build character and morals in light of repeated abuse from their birth mother.Although she and her husband have been able to support the children in the past, long-term medical issues for both have put a strain on the family finances and they have turned to Item Santa for help.A high-functioning autistic, Roy is in need of clothing and toys this holiday season, including a jacket, gloves, hat, socks and underwear. Erika is also disabled, suffering from a non-verbal learning disorder, and she also suffers from emotional problems stemming from years of abuse and neglect.Erika also needs clothing, and would appreciate any toys that a kind donor could give.Karen says she works hard to instill good moral values in her children, who have had no positive influence in their lives before they began living with her. She takes them to church every Sunday and is hoping that the generosity of the Item Santa will show the children that there are good people in the world, and that they should do everything they can to give back when they grow old.Karen’s children are struggling in school but working hard, while her husband works multiple jobs to support the family while she is out on disability.Her step-children have had a difficult life thus far, but Karen is hoping that the generosity of Item Santa donors will at least make the Christmas season a happy and healthy one for her family and the two children that she has never turned away from even in the toughest of times.Click here to download a coupon to make a donation to Item Santa.Mail it, along with a check, to the Item Salvation Army Santa, P.O. Box 951, Lynn MA 01903.For more information call the Salvation Army at 781-598-0673.