DALLAS — Change happens in an instant.
“When I moved into that apartment, I’d just moved there from a shelter. I lived there from February to September. I’m thinking I’ve gotten on my feet,” said Diamond Otey, a Dallas resident. Now, she has hit rock bottom, again.
After seven months living at the Sun Palace Apartments near Fair Park, Otey and her family woke up to a shootout on Sept. 25.
“I just felt stinging,” said 11-year-old D’Yonna Otey. She is Diamond Otey's daughter and was sleeping when a stray bullet hit her just missing her spine.
“When I looked at her, she had on some pink pajama pants, and then they just started turning red. That’s how I knew she got shot," Otey said. “She got hit one time. It ricocheted in her body. She still has bullet fragments in it."
Since that shooting, everything changed for the family.
“When my daughter heard any noise, it would scare her. My 6-year-old always asks me if she’s still going to die,” said Otey.
She also struggled at work.
“I had missed too many days, and I just started working there,” Otey said. “I lost my job and I got evicted from my apartment. I’m staying with a friend for now.”
She is looking for a safe place to live.
While Otey looked for help stating a GoFundMe, WFAA introduced her to Patricia Allen. She runs No More Violence Organization helping victims and their families.
“Once she told me her story and how her baby was a survivor, I immediately said we’ve got to be there for that family,” said Allen, No More Violence co-founder.
They adopted Otey's family providing clothes and connecting them with community resources.
“We want to make sure that her daughter understands what has happened to her, so that way she can help another young person and understand how the effect of her being shot has affected the whole family,” said Allen.
Otey and her family are appreciative of the help.
“They help us with comfort. She calls and checks up on us. She speaks life into us,” Otey said. “We have an extra family member now.”
It is an instant change that is gradually growing.
To learn more about the GoFundMe helping the Otey family, click here.