Imagine waking up at 1am to your house on fire and the sound of your mother being beaten.
That is exactly what happened to two children less than a week ago in Langley, when their father broke into their house and brutally attacked his estranged wife.
Thankfully, the man was caught the next day after a province-wide manhunt and he will now, hopefully rot in prison for the rest of his life. Even more thankfully, the wife and kids are physically okay. But they will likely suffer mentally for the rest of their lives, a lasting legacy of the abuse this man put on them.
As if the situation wasn't dire enough, the family's house perished in the blaze leaving the mother and children with little more than the clothes on their backs. I can't help think that every dollar this mother has to spend to deal with this situation is another injustice at the hands of her attacker.
Luckily there is a strong community that has been lending a hand, but I honestly don't think there is ever enough we can do as a community in these situations. Myself, along with others who know the family, have begun fundraising and you can go to the YouCaring page we have set up to send a secure donation to the family. Or if you are inclined, you can go to any Envision Credit Union Branch and make a donation to the Cella family to Account # 7285828.
It's times like this, after such violent acts, that present an opportunity to show that the idea of community and the ideal of humanity still exist.