Community responds generously to Ceres children rescued from deplorable home

When the community learned about seven children removed from a filthy, cockroach-infested home in Ceres earlier this month, the response was overwhelming generosity.

Bags and bags of clothes, toys and blankets, as well as cash, were dropped off at the Ceres Police Department for the children.

One of the first donations came from a 12-year-old girl, who gave a huge art-and-activity set full of pens, pencils and paints that she’d received for Christmas but hadn’t opened.

A woman delivered seven handmade quilts, one for each child.

Nearly $1,000 was also donated, which police staff members used to buy more clothes, shoes, toiletries, socks and bins to store all of the clothes, said Lt. Chris Perry.

Each child was given a bin filled to the brim with clothes, in addition to the toys and toiletries, which were delivered to the children Tuesday.

Police staff and members of the Ceres Partnership for Healthy Children delivered the items and also brought a pink birthday cake for the oldest girl, who celebrated a birthday Monday.

“Their smiles and laughter radiated warmth as they received their gifts from the community,” Sgt. Jose Berber wrote in a post on the department’s Facebook page.

Officers found the children sleeping on a dirty couch that had fresh vomit on it Feb. 2 after police responded to a domestic violence report in the 1900 block of Darrah Street. There was no food in the home. All the dishes were dirty and the only running water was in the bathtub, which was filled with clothes.

Amy Luna, mother of five of the children; Suzanne Luna, mother of two of the children; and Jose Garcia, Suzanne Luna’s boyfriend, were arrested on suspicion of child endangerment.

Dozens of people contacted Ceres police inquiring how they could help, so the department posted the ages and clothing sizes of all the children on its Facebook page.

Any additional items delivered to to the Police Department will be given to other foster children in need.

This story was originally published February 12, 2016 at 6:17 PM with the headline "Community responds generously to Ceres children rescued from deplorable home."