In tough times, two families become one

Sarah Campbell / Salisbury Post Tamara Buchanan, second from left, prays with her newfound family in their home on Horah Street.

Buy a print

Sarah Campbell / Salisbury Post Tamara Buchanan's 12-year-old son, Devin Stafford, prays with his 'nana' Pamela Wilkes in their Horah Street home.

Buy a print

Sarah Campbell / Salisbury Post Tamara Buchanan, second from left, prays with her newfound family in their home on Horah Street.

Buy a print

By Sarah Campbell

scampbell@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — When Tamara Buchanan’s hours at a local fast food restaurant were cut in half, making ends meet went from difficult to impossible.

Working less than 20 hours a week, she could no longer afford to pay her rent at Eaman Park Apartments or bills for water and utilities.

When the eviction notice arrived, Buchanan started looking for places to move with her 12-year-old son, Devin. She didn’t have to look far.

Former neighbor Pamela Wilkes offered the two shelter at her home on Horah Street.

“When I first moved to Eaman and didn’t have any water, she let us come over to take baths and stuff,” Wilkes said. “So do you think I’m going to let her go out there in the streets when she was so good to us? That would be like us turning our backs on her, and I can’t do that.”

Wilkes said she still remembers the first time she met 12-year-old Devin Stafford.

“He came over and said ‘Welcome to the neighborhood,’ ” she said. “I’ve been in love with him ever since.”

It’s been about a year since Buchanan and Devin moved in and the two families became one.

Since then, Devin has gone from failing some of his classes at Knox Middle School to making As and Bs.

“When they moved in, I had to really get with him and say, in my household you make As and Bs and you study the Bible,” Wilkes said.

Getting by

With fewer hours and a pay rate that is slightly higher than minimum wage, Buchanan said she still struggles to get by.

She receives $94 a month in food stamps, but as food prices climb, that covers less each month.

“At the first of the month when the bills are due, you have to worry,” she said. “Am I providing enough? Are we going to make ends meet? Are we going to have to worry about our landlord being on our butts? Are we going to have to worry about our lights or our water?”

But that worry has started to subside.

“Two things are for sure: We’re going to be warm, and we’re going to eat,” Buchanan said. “If we go in there and there is nothing to eat, there is something wrong because (Pam’s) going to move heaven and earth to get it.”

Once in a while when the family does find themselves without food, Bob Foreman, the Communities in Schools site coordinator at Knox, steps in to make sure they don’t go hungry.

“He also helps us out with school supplies and school uniforms,” Buchanan said. “He really helps us out a lot.”

Faith in the future

Buchanan hopes her hours will pick up at work, but with the holidays around the corner, she knows more people will be competing for the time.

Back problems keep her from taking jobs that require more physical labor.

But the uncertain future doesn’t get the family down.

Every night before bed, they kneel on the floor beside Devin’s bed to say their prayers. Closing their eyes, bowing their heads and clasping their together hands, they recite a traditional bedtime prayer in unison.

“Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, If I shall die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.”

Before they say amen, each member takes a turn praying aloud. Some thank the Lord, while others ask for help.

It’s been a ritual since the Buchanan and Devin moved in.

Wilkes lives by the saying “the family that prayers together stays together.”

They aren’t related by blood, but no one knows the difference. Wilkes is “nana” to Devin and “mama” to Buchanan.

“They’re all right as long as I’ve got breath in my body,” Wilkes said.

Buchanan said she’s not sure what would have happened had Wilkes not taken her and Devin in.

“God knew what he was doing when he put that angel there, trust me,” she said.

Contact reporter Sarah Campbell at 704-797-7683.

Twitter: twitter.com/posteducation

Facebook: facebook.com/Sarah.SalisburyPost