HPD provides ‘adopted’ family with gifts, supplies

HAMLET — Jennie Merriman was at a loss for words. All she could do was thank the Hamlet Police officers for their kindness and generosity.

As part of its annual tradition of “adopting” a family in need during the holiday season, the Hamlet Police Department presented Merriman and her two grandsons, Knowledge Short, 14, and Jermain Short, 13, with Christmas gifts, nonperishable food items and other household supplies Monday morning.

“It means so much to me,” Merriman said. “I didn’t know how I was going to make it with my grandkids. My heart is so full of joy. I can’t do nothing but cry and say thank you Jesus. He is so awesome. I can’t believe it.”

HPD Interim Chief Anthony Moss said Knowledge and Jermain’s mother, Merriman’s daughter, passed away about six months ago and they have struggled since.

“We try to sponsor a family every year,” Moss said. “We all just got together and started chipping in to get things that we know a family like that needs – nonperishable food items and some things for the kids to help the kids feel like kids.”

Moss said HPD’s Mike Patrick and Sheree McInnis helped coordinate the effort for the department. They work to try to find a family for the department to sponsor and then organize the donations and the items that come in.

“Some of the items came from within, but a lot of the stuff came from within the community,” Moss said. “We even had people from different states, one being a daycare from a different state that sent money once they heard what was going on. So it’s not only inside the department, the community came together to help us sponsor this family.”

After presenting Merriman and the kids with the gifts and items in the Hamlet City Council Chambers, the officers helped load up Merriman’s car with the items, while two Hamlet police officers packed some of the bigger boxes of supplies into their police vehicle to help Merriman transport it all home.