Lindsay Milbert and her family were out of money, had no place to live and were quickly losing hope.
- Bradenton police officer helps family down on its luck
- Officer Jason Nuttall helped with food, shelter
- Lindsay Milbert, husband Chris and 3 kids now have apartment
That's when a Bradenton police officer stepped in and changed her family's lives.
Earlier this month, Milbert, her husband Chris and their three children moved to Bradenton from West Palm Beach to pursue a job opportunity that eventually did not work out.
The family found themselves on the side of a Bradenton road, in their car, with little money and even fewer choices.
"I didn't know what to do," said Milbert, 34. "The next thing you know, my husband looks to the right and sees the cop car pulling up, and he looks at me and goes, 'Here we go.' "
Officer Jason Nuttall approached the family and simply asked them a question: "Are you OK?"
"For him to ask me that, I literally broke down," Milbert said. "I was just like, 'No. I am not at all.' I am homeless with three kids. I do not know what to do."
Although he didn't know it at the time, Nuttall was about to become the family's guardian angel.
"When I pulled over and she said, 'Yeah we're more or less homeless right now, I said, 'All right — let's fix this,' " Nuttall said.
Taking money out of his own pocket, Nuttall's generosity started with lunch, moved on to groceries — and finally, a hotel roof over the family's head.
Now, with Nuttall's help and the help of a local Salvation Army, the family is moving into their own apartment.
"I don't feel that it's hopeless anymore," said Milbert, who added that she and her husband have both found jobs. "I feel that we're going to make it now."
Nuttall still speaks with the family and continues to help them get settled.
"To have our kids with us still — it's the best feeling in the world," Nuttall said. "That's what keeps me going every day is being to have my family with me at all times."