A 1989 Chevy that was given to Sunrise of Pasco after its owner died was stolen and later found vandalized.
By MOLLY MOORHEAD, Times Staff Writer
Published June 15, 2006
DADE CITY - Each woman, facing extraordinary problems, needed the car for ordinary reasons.
"I have a job," one woman wrote, "but it's hard for me to get around."
Said another: "My car would be used to take my kids to the places they needed to go."
Turns out, the '89 Chevy with only 47,000 miles won't be getting anyone anywhere.
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Once or twice a year, Sunrise of Pasco, the Dade City agency that serves victims of domestic violence, has a car to give away. In May, a woman died, and her family donated her white four-door car to the agency.
Sunrise CEO Penny Morrill said the first place she turned to find an appropriate recipient was to women staying in Sunrise's shelter.
"Usually they're in greater need," she said Wednesday.
The car needed to go to someone who had a driver's license and could keep up with insurance premiums and maintenance.
No one in the shelter fit the profile, but five women the agency helps through its outreach programs did. They wrote letters saying why they needed the car and what they would do with it.
Sunrise provided their handwritten letters to the St. Petersburg Times. The women's names are being withheld to protect their identities.
"If I was blessed with a car, I wouldn't have to walk to work," one of them wrote. "I could make all my kids' appointments. I wouldn't have to pay out extra money for rides that I really don't have."
Another woman has doctor appointments in New Port Richey, a job in Hillsborough County and classes in Tampa.
"I don't have the support from family most of the time," she wrote.
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Morrill said these circumstances are typical for women who have walked away from abuse.
"Generally most of them do not have access to a vehicle because the partner has kept it," she said. "They may not have been working, and they've now got to get a job because they have no other support.''
Some of the letters mentioned buses, but Morrill said that option is not ideal.
"The limited public transportation in the county makes it difficult for somebody who, say, could get a job in New Port Richey but has no way to get there," she said.
Morrill said the plan was to screen the letters and choose a recipient. Or if it was too hard to decide, she would draw a name.
"Unfortunately, it never came to that point,'' she said.
Over Memorial Day weekend, a Sunrise employee drove past the office and noticed the car was missing from the parking lot. Morrill hadn't moved it, so they called the Sheriff's Office to report it stolen.
It was recovered later, but with the front windshield shattered, the back blown out and the interior trashed. No arrests have been made.
"I'm just disgusted," Morrill said Wednesday. "It was an older car, but it was in excellent condition.
"It just infuriates me, whoever did this."
Sunrise shelters more than 250 women and children a year and serves another 1,000 through counseling, case management, support groups and legal advocacy. The agency always needs donations - namely cash - but also household items for its thrift store, and of course cars.
One of the women's letters explains why: "We don't like to ask for help, but there are times we all need a little help. My girls and I have to go places."
