Using Craigslist to find apartments, jobs, and cheap items seems to be a thing of the past. A North Carolina mother of five sought the help of Craigslist to find a home for her children, but instead, she drew the attention of social services.
A desperate Moshimalee Johnson, 32, took to Craigslist to pleading for someone to take her kids in, after she says the Durham Department of Social Services refused to help her earlier this month. “I called DSS, and they won’t take them. The shelter has a waiting list and Urban Ministries won’t let you work if you come there,” Johnson wrote in the July 9 posting in the apartment section of Craigslist. “I am a certified nursing assistant but can’t find work due to numerous doctor’s appointments because my 6-year-old accidentally hung [sic] himself. Please help anyone,” she added.
Johnson, who is currently eight months pregnant, says the children were taken and put into foster care following her posting. She is mother to a set of 2-year-old twins, a 9 year old, a 7 year old, and 6 year old.
Speaking to the News & Observer, Johnson claimed she didn’t want to lose her children, but instead wanted to find a place for them all to live together. “Maybe I didn’t make myself clear. I didn’t want to give the kids up,” she explained. “I wanted a place for me and my kids.”
The Durham County Social Services Office have not confirmed whether the children were taken away as a result of the posting.