Jaheim Benton played a big role in the success of Chicago’s Jackie Robinson West, which represented the Great Lakes region in this summer’s Little League World Series. His team went on to lose in the World Series finals in Williamsport, Penn., and Benton returned to Chicago to an even harsher reality — his family was homeless.
Benton’s mother is an in-home care provider, and his father is a radiator technician, but between reduced hours and difficulty finding full-time work, Benton’s family was forced to split up and stay in friends’ houses beginning in June, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The story of hardship has a silver lining, though.
After the Benton family’s story was reported over the weekend, a local Chicago funeral home has offered to pay one full year of rent for the family as they try to get back on their feet, according to ABC 7 in Chicago.
“They have united the city. They have united the country. And now, they are known all over the world,” Spencer Leak, Jr. of Leak and Sons Funeral Home said.
“I would hope that this rent turns into a mortgage that turns into home ownership for them,” Leak Jr. said. “We want our little superstar to have a roof over his head because that’s what he is. He’s a superstar.”
Benton scored five runs in the Little League World Series, including the one that pushed his team past Las Vegas in the national championship game.
Photo via Twitter/@YahooSports
