LA County Sheriff's Deputies Armed With Cleaning Supplies Help 86-Year-Old La Mirada Woman Living In Filthy, Unsafe Conditions
LA MIRADA (CBSLA) — Several Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies armed themselves with brooms and mops to help clean up the La Mirada home of an elderly woman living by herself.
Deputy Ana Acosta was called out recently to a home in La Mirada to investigate a possible case of elder abuse. At the home, she met 86-year-old Margarita, who had been living there by herself for many years.
And even though the deputy didn't find evidence of elder abuse, Acosta could not simply walk away from Margarita's home – it was filthy, in disarray, unsafe, and well on its way to becoming a hoarding situation, according to spokeswoman Juanita Navarro-Suarez.
"She could've driven away, cleared the call and went on the next one," Navarro-Suarez said in an email.
Acosta delved deeper and discovered Margarita had a number of medical issues that prevents her from moving around too much and cleaning the home herself. Not only that, Margarita only speaks Spanish and has no family living in California.
"When we looked at Margarita, she reminded us of a grandma, or a mother, possibly us in about 30 years," Acosta said.
The heartbreaking situation prompted Acosta to recruit her own family, friends, and fellow deputies to clean up the home and contacted Home Depot, which donated cleaning supplies. On Sunday, the large group of volunteers descended on Margarita's home to clear the home of trash and clean up, leaving the home looking new and sparkling. Visions in Furniture donated a new bed frame and rugs, while Security Operations Group helped haul away all the trash.
"You know it was amazing to see. I feel like everyone came with an open heart, they were here on their day off, we weren't getting paid, you know we weren't doing it for any recognition," Acosta said. "We were just doing it to help Margarita."