There’s a 9-year-old with a big heart who's on a mission to help a mother and daughter.

Mia Lopez and 10-year-old Arianna Gilham are two girls who are more grown-up than they appear. The girls recently met in their fourth-grade class and friendship seemed inevitable.

"The first time I'd seen her we were looking at the guinea pigs and I said, 'Hi, do you want to be friends?’ and then she said ‘Yeah, sure’ and then we just started being best friends," said Mia.

But it’s more than that. They now share a special bond after a simple admission from Arianna.

"I kept asking her, ‘You're homeless?’” said Mia. “Then she was like 'Yes' and I finally got to the point that she was really homeless, so, like, I was amazed."

There wasn’t any judgment by Mia, just action to change her friend’s life.

"She was so adamant about it," Mia's aunt, Veronica Rojero, said. "She would tell me every day ‘My friend, she's still homeless, we have to find her, we have to find her.' "


Arianna's mother, Kim, lost her job and has been searching for work. They were living in a shelter but weren’t allowed to stay any longer.

They searched for Arianna and her mother Kim all over town until they found them at Hernando Park.

"I was like excited,” said Mia. “I was happy that we found her because if we didn't find her we wouldn't be able to know where she was."

Arianna and Kim were living in a shelter but weren’t allowed to stay any longer. Kim lost her job and said she’s been searching for work everywhere with no luck.

For Mia, family is only a matter of who you love and she believes once the community sees what they see, more help will follow for the Gilham family.

"It's lucky to have a friend that you can talk to and go to," said Arianna.

So rather than worry about where Arianna lays her head at night, they can concern themselves about their next play date.

"I think we're going to grow up together," said Mia.

"Yeah, we're going to be really good friends when we grow up," said Arianna.

Mia’s family has set up a gofundme account for the family. They say their number one goal is to get enough help to get the two in a more permanent home. Right now they are staying in a motel.

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