This is one of the saddest things I've ever seen. This is one we can change.

Shanesha Taylor

I know this has been reported elsewhere today, but I've only now had a chance to read the actual story. My heart has been smashed into little tiny pieces. I can't begin to imagine what it's going to take to glue the remains of Shanesha Taylor's heart back together.

For those who don't know, Shanesha Taylor lives in Scottsdale, Arizona — in Maricopa County, Joe Arpaio's personal little police state. Bad enough, no doubt, to be a Black woman there in the first place. How much worse to be unemployed and homeless, with two very small children (one aged two; one six months)?

Ms. Taylor and her children have been living out of their car. Last Thursday, she got what seemed to be a golden opportunity — she got called for a job interview. But she couldn't leave her children at home in the usual sense, because their car is their home. And so she did the only thing she could do: She left them in what passes for their home, in her car, with the windows cracked for air. 

She wasn't gone long, apparently. But it was long enough for someone to notice the children, and call Maricopa County Child Protective Services. Her babies are now in the system — and Shanesha Taylor is sitting in a cell in the Maricopa County Jail, "guest" of Joe Arpaio himself, charged with two felony counts of child abuse.

Yes. Felony counts. For trying to do the one thing that would save her children in the long run. And in Maricopa County, I have to wonder whether a white woman in similar straits would've been charged only with misdemeanor counts. Or been let off with a warning.

She has no way to make bail. She'll be there at least until her initial appearance, and probably thereafter. Who knows when (whether?) she'll get her babies back.

This matters.

Yes, that image above is her mug shot. In the larger photos, you can see that she's wearing what is probably her one good dress, all ready for the job interview. Those tears streaming down her face are going to haunt me forever.

A kind soul named Amanda Bishop did what no one else up until now, none of the official agencies, none of the representatives of the state's and the country's so-called safety net apparently could be bothered to do. She set up a crowdfunding site to try to raise funds for Ms. Taylor's bail, to get her children back, to get her a cell phone and some food and some shelter and maybe, just maybe, a deposit and first month's rent on an apartment while she looks for a job. Ms. Bishop set the goal at $9,000; it's already nearly double that. But that's a drop in the bucket compared to what it will take to get Ms. Taylor and her babies reunited and safe.

This matters.

We've just given $25. If everyone in our networks matched that, she'd be set in no time. But times are tough, and some folks can't even do a dollar right now. No matter; you can share this post, Tweet it, Facebook it. And if you can donate, so much the better for Ms. Taylor and her children.

We're in. Please join us. Go here.

Chi miigwech.