Darnell Currie Jr., 9, and A’millah Currie, 2, died on February 10 after being exposed to freezing temperatures.
On Thursday, a funeral was held for two children who died while sleeping in a cold van in a Detroit casino parking lot.
According to The Detroit News and AP News, mourners gathered at the Triumph Church to honor the memory of Darnell Currie Jr., 9, and A’millah Currie, 2. Some attendees were dressed in pink in honor of A’millah, while others donned blue football jerseys for Darnell, who was a fan of the sport.
“All of us ought to be compassionate. Nobody should be apathetic,” Rev. Solomon Kinloch, Jr., the pastor of Triumph Church, said during the service, The Detroit News reported.
The siblings’ 29-year-old mother, Tateona Williams, said the two died tragically on February 10 after being exposed to freezing temperatures while sleeping in a van along with her two other children and her own mother. The family had been living in the van for months after they attempted to get help from the city’s homelessness response team.
Williams explained the family would sleep with the van’s heat on but on the morning her children were found dead, the car had stopped running.
Speaking about the case that has garnered national attention and a public outcry, Williams told People magazine, “I kept calling. I called out of state, cities, different states. I asked Detroit for help.”
She told the outlet she was told shelters didn’t have the capacity to take the mother and her four children, “But it took two [of] my kids to die … for them to want to help.”
An investigation by city officals into the matter is ongoing. The Wayne County Medical Examiner’s office also announced on Thursday that the final cause and manner of A’Millah and Darnell’s deaths could take several months to determine.
Since the family’s tragedy has gained widespread attention, Deputy Mayor Melia Howard has confirmed that a local group will cover the cost of rent for a year for the mother.
“It’s just important for me to let them know that we’re not just here for today,” Howard told The Detroit News while speaking at the funeral home ahead of the service. “We’re going to be with them as long as they need us.”
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